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dr-yung · 5 days

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I LOVE DR. YUNG. Please watch Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon... I wish to ramble about it...

So there's two english dubs. The original airing, and the DVD Bonus alongside the Mystery of Mew movie. The first dub also has a different intro (I prefer the second dub's intro). They're the same song, at different points.

Very notably, in the second dub, there's an error where Ash refers to Mirage Master by his Japanese name, Mr. Mirage. This is not present in the original dub.

As to which one is better... Both have their clunky moments. I love the special dearly, but both English dubs are kind of mid. Where the first lacks, the second provides, and visa versa.

Back to the Mr. Mirage / Mirage Master thing... Dr. Yung is still his name in Japanese, which implies a Jekyll and Hyde origin, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde being the titles of the characters in the novella. This inspiration is one I firmly believe is intended, given that Dr. Yung was portrayed as respectable until the reveal. Alongside the fact that I also have great interest in the novella, so I may be biased... Dr. Jekyll is a man who is of dubious morality. People equate Dr. Jekyll to good - but that is wrong. He experimented to create Hyde, a personification of his evil, in an attempt to seperate himself from his darker thoughts and ideas. Hyde is every bit of evil that Jekyll is, but isolated and without restraint. This makes Dr. Yung being inspired from Jekyll more plausible. Pokémon has always been my special interest, and I had a year or so where I obsessed over the novella, so my current Dr. Yung obsession is. Intense.

His hair is #78BDC4, which is EXTREMELY close to the color of Wynaut's official art. This is notable, because Wynaut is the only Pokémon found on Mirage Island - which is the only refrence to Mirage Island I can see in the special. The special itself takes place in Dr. Yung's lab in Kanto - despite being based around Mirage themes and being in the Hoenn era. I personally headcanon that Dr. Yung has once visited Mirage Island, but the island is never mentioned in the special.

Dr. Yung's past in the Pokémon Institute is vague; and that may be because that past only exists in the English Dubs (grain of salt; I'm unsure myself, because I don't know where to watch the entire sub). The past is only touched upon near the end of the special, where Oak mentions Yung was expelled from the Institute, and that his actions are of vengence. The details remain vague; if Oak was his teacher, or the one who expelled him, is never clarified. However, in Japanese, this line is absent; Oak instead concluded that Dr. Yung is Mr. Mirage, due to Mr. Mirage stating all his hard work was complete, which directly implies that he made the Mirage System, which Dr. Yung did.

The fact such a vital story beat could be created for the dub isn't far-fetched, to me. The dubs are of dubious quality, and were in the middle of a huge shift in voice actors, alongside the original being under 4Kids (and we all know how badly 4Kids changed things for no reason). The special itself is unique, in that the dub was aired in the US, before the original Japanese version aired in the east.

This isn't actually mentioned on the Bulbapedia page, but when the special was aired in the US, it occured with a sweepstakes event. If you input a code found in the commercials in a certain site, you could win a 10th anniversary Pikachu plushie, or a copy of Pokémon Trozei. The only known preservation of said airing I know of, is on internet archive.

Speaking of, the special was aired for the 10th anniversary (based on Red/Green's release date of 1996) in April of 2006. This is referenced in the special, with Oak's password being REDGREEN.

Dr. Yung is one of few Pokémon Villains most consider entirely irredeemable. Note that morality =/= enjoyment of the character, and for God's sake I am allowed to enjoy morally dubious characters. If you think me liking a morally dubious character is excusing and weird, please touch grass. He is wrong, and I like him, that can and should coexist.

He's extremely obscure in terms of Pokémon, having very few pieces of fanart to ever be posted online (one being from me, and one being traced). From what I can find, only two English fanfics featuring him exist, both being rewrites of the special on Fanfic.net. He has no tag on Ao3. I am in the trenches. All gifs of him on Tenor are from me (solarcanic), including a few inside jokes. To this day I have only met 4 other Dr. Yung fans, one being here on Tumblr, one being on TikTok, and the other two being my friends whom I dragged here with me.

I am BEGGING people to hear me out. My autism has cursed me by making my interest in him so severe. Please don't let me crazily ramble here alone PLEASE... If I yell loud enough people might hear... And join me.........

#pokemon #stuff ;; infodump #op ;; me #pokemon dr yung #dr yung #dr yung pokemon #mirage master pokemon #pokemon mirage master #mirage master #mastermind of mirage pokemon

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lilmackiereads · 1 year

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A Kinda-Sorta Live Review of “The Girl on the Train” (2015) by Paula Hawkins Pt 1

SO, the version of this novel that I have is 323 pages, and nearly a third of the way through I thought to myself I should really be live-reacting to this. Alas, I don’t want to stream myself reading this book out loud in my leopard-print snuggie, but I can type my thoughts on the chapters as I go since I love to write.

I have been taking notes on my phone full of my hypotheses and reactions toward plot points, character development, and sassy dialogue/ inner-monologue. If you are a fan of the book or film and want to see if I can solve the mystery as I go, cool! There will be plenty of spoilers below.

I found this novel a month or two back in a Little Free Library in Boise, Idaho and I remember seeing the trailer for the film. I haven’t watched the movie, but I remember thinking that the trailer seemed like a rip-off of Rear Window (1954) so I thought I would pass. However, the fact that the gorgeous and talented Emily Blunt is the lead is urging me to give it a shot if I like the book. When reading the synopsis and spoiler-free reviews, I saw that the book was compared to Gone Girl which is one of my favorite mystery-thriller novels and films.

Blog Live React Part 1 is separated into the following 4 parts (pages 00 to 27)

Paragraph One - Narrator Not Revealed -- pg 00

Paragraph Two - Narrator Not Revealed -- pg 0

Rachel - Friday July 5th, 2013 to Thursday July 11th, 2013 -- pgs 1-15

Megan -- One Year Earlier -- Wednesday May 16th, 2012 to Tuesday September 25, 2012 -- pgs 16-27

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Paragraph One - Narrator Not Yet Revealed (pg 00)

Beginning with the sentence “She’s buried beneath a silver birch tree, down towards the old train tracks, her grave marked with a cairn.” I was immediately sucked in! Since the Narrator for this passage has still not been revealed 100 pages in, my guess is that it is probably Rachel because she is “the girl on the train” and the first Narrator we meet. I like that you can’t tell the Narrator’s sex or background relation to the victim from the paragraph; it makes it much more mysterious.

Paragraph Two - Narrator Not Yet Revealed (pg 0)

Even before the Narrator finished the rhyme, I knew they were talking about magpies. They are usually considered a symbol of melancholy which is really nailing in the spooky and sad undertone of the story before we’ve even committed to page one. There is a chapter early on in the book that is narrated by Megan that mentions magpies, which made me think this was her narrating. But on second thought I’m wondering if it’s Rachel or Drunk Rachel since she is wrapped up in the idea of motherhood. “Now look what you made me do.” The italics is a nice touch. Is this the killer doing a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing?

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Rachel - Friday July 5th, 2013 to Thursday July 11th, 2013

--- From this point on I will write just based on the text presented at the time without reference to future chapters. These notes are based on the notes I took on my phone while reading the book. ---

* Friday July 5th, 2013 (pgs 1-3)

A couple things I notice right out of the gate are that this is summertime and it’s on a Friday. A lot of people who work Monday to Friday are, in my opinion, less aware of their mundane surroundings on Fridays and Mondays because they are thinking about starting the work week or their weekend plans. The fact that Rachel is very attuned to detail tells me that she is very sensitive to change, is really nosy, or is very bored (or a combination of all three.)

I connected with Rachel very quickly when she mentioned her “overactive imagination” when trying to give a backstory to the abandoned clothes. I tend to personify or imagine scenarios due to my interest in true-crime and overly-anxious personality.

Rachel mentions her Mother and Tom right away. Is he her husband/ boyfriend? Ex? Brother? Can’t be a parent or grandparent because she would call them “Dad” or “Grandpa Tom.” Also, she uses past tense “said.” Is she estranged from them both? Or maybe they’re dead? DID SHE KILL THEM? No murder victims have been found yet, but I’m just waiting for it to happen.

Rachel keeps personifying the loneliness of the clothes. Can you say “projecting my problems instead of acknowledging them?” She also personifies the houses by saying “their backs turned squarely to the track” (2). Who left this woman so broken? Part of me wants to give her a hug and the other part wants to take her to therapy.

Oof... she’s drinking a lot to forget Tom. What did he do, sis? At least she’s not drinking before work...

*Monday July 8th, 2013 (pgs 3-6)

Man, she is living for work and routine. Very few people that I know who think that it’s a “relief” (3) to be back on their M-F schedule. Now that she’s introducing “Jess and Jason” I find it kind of endearing... and creepy. I have favorite houses that I pass by and I like to people watch, too. However, projecting onto them as “perfect, golden couple” (4) is only going to bring her pain when they move away or she actually meets them and find that they have human flaws like everyone else.

Ah, there’s the mention of Tom. Definitely a romantic partner then.

OOOH, she is drinking again. And on a Monday night? How does she get on the train at 8am every day without a hangover? Does she just have a major tolerance? If alcoholism is her baseline how much can I trust her narrative?

Ok, imagining Jason’s hands on her shoulders is not just spooky, but also a bit sad. Girl needs to move on from Tom. I’d feel bad though if Tom died and that’s why she’s drinking.

*Tuesday July 9th, 2013 (pgs 6-9)

Aw, it’s sad that she lost her home. Especially her first true place on her own.

Who is this Anna chick? I already don’t like her.

I feel like I know too many Controlling Cathys and I HATE that feeling like a guest in your own house (whether you own it or pay rent). I’ve been there too many times throughout college. At the same time though, is Cathy actually controlling or is Rachel just projecting this controlling personality onto Cathy because she feels like her own life is out of control?

“I have lost control over everything, even the places in my head” (9). I have only known Rachel for ten minutes and I need to adopt her and tell her it’s going to be ok.

*Wednesday July 10, 2013 (pgs 9-11)

How would she know that Jason is a doctor? He could be working retail for all she knows (not a diss; I work retail). She really has a thing for the strong-male-savior-types, doesn’t she?

She’s describing Jess and her “bold prints and her Converse trainers” (9) and how edgy and quirky she is. It’s making me not like Jess as much because she’s projecting the Amy Elliot Dunne’s “Cool-Girl” philosophy onto her. I used to want to be Cool-Girl for so long as a teen and now it makes me wanna gag. Thanks, Amy for showing me the light of how lame and over-idolized the “Cool-Girl” concept is (like Manic-Pixie-Dreamgirl, just for the male gaze...)

I feel bad for Rachel on her way home sitting across from the well-dressed man. Her self-esteem is shot and she really projects these feelings of self-loathing onto anyone who even looks at her when they probably don’t really have an opinion of her. It’s sad, too, that her roommate doesn’t stand up for her and just lets her boyfriend poke fun at her. She’s clearly depressed.

*Thursday July 11, 2013 (pgs 11-15)

It took me a while to realize that “plaster” is British for “bandage.”

I feel a little embarrassed because like Rachel, I literally cut myself a couple days ago while cooking and had to lay down cuz I got woozy. I probably would have fallen asleep, too, if my boyfriend wasn’t there to clean my finger and bandage me. I’m a little wimpy. What a waste of steak. :(

Girl, don’t drink on an empty stomach. Alcohol is not your friend!

Ok... don’t drink on an empty stomach and call your ex!!!!

She called him FOUR times and left TWO messages? Kill me now.

Wow, it’s almost like these very specific instances of getting drunk and humiliating herself in front of her husband, strangers, friends, and her boss are real. Oh wait, they are. Her denial is so strong that I had to read the section twice to realize they were memories and not made up. Girl needs anger management sessions if she went after her husband with a golf club. I wonder if he provoked it in any way? Not saying that makes it ok, but it makes me think HE HAD IT COMIN from Chicago (2002).

She’s thinking all these strong, supportive thoughts about Jess. But get this: what if she’s just as depressed as she is? What if she’s a MURDERER? I don’t think that’s likely cuz of the synopsis that the girl she sees goes missing. What if she fakes her own death/ disappearance? Or like, what if Jess is actually the worst? Like when you think someone is really cool and then you meet them and they kinda suck...

Oop, her ex is calling her back. I mean, he’s right, she does need AA big time.

(Squishing her scab on her bandaged finger open) Ooh she’s one of those who when she feels emotional pain she has to redirect it to physical pain to distract herself. Is this gonna escalate toward others? Dun dun dun. *TV Voice* Tune in next week to see if she does!

Megan - One Year Earlier - Wednesday May 16th, 2012 to Tuesday September 25, 2012

*Wednesday, May 16, 2012 (pgs 16-18)

Ooh new Narrator. I love books like this. Multiple first-person chapters are so much more interesting to me than a whole book in third person.

Already it seems like she would rather be anywhere else but here. Is she going to run away and fake her murder like in Gone Girl?

What the heck was going on with those two ladies and the baby? Was one of them kidnapping the child or just playing too rough? I hope we get to see more of this later on in a flashback.

*Tuesday, August 14th, 2012 (pgs 18-20)

She definitely does not like kids. If she was an artist why is she nannying? Wouldn’t it be better to use the off time to make more art? I guess maybe she’s in a major depression slump, but doing something she doesn’t like probably won’t get her out of it. Unless she’s hoping that doing something that she doesn’t like inspires new art...

Also, their names are Scott and Megan. This is going to be weird to try and keep characters straight with two names.

Oof, she doesn’t like Anna either. Three of us in this boat now. (Me, Megan, and Rachel.)

*Thursday, August 16, 2012 (pgs 20-21)

Damn, girl, quitting after 48 hours? At least this is inspiring new art projects.

*Thursday, September 20th, 2012 (pgs 21-24)

Reading snippets of her life and then jumping a month ahead is a bit jarring. Is she really not doing much in this time? It’s making it hard for me to get to know her. I feel like I know Rachel quite a bit more despite the fact that I’ve seen five days into her life and a few months into Megan’s.

Oh wow. Poor Megan! That’s a terrible and traumatic way to lose someone. I wonder how long ago her brother passed away. It definitely makes her depression make more sense. I think therapy would be good for her so I’m glad that Scott is pushing her to go instead of sitting around at home all day.

Girl is horny af crushing on her therapist. I mean, he does sound a bit dreamy, but she is a married woman. She needs to calm tf down.

*Tuesday, September 25th, 2012 (pgs 24-27)

“The only places I seem to go these days are to the shops, my Pilates classes, and my therapist” (24). --> That is literally me when I am not at work, haha. I am such a homebody and the only exercise I get is Pilates. I get really restless, too, if I’m not creating so I have to scrapbook, paint, write, or read to feel better.

She imagines really morbid things, too! Maybe she and Rachel should start a true crime club.

OK WHO IS THE SMILING MAN? Is he a stranger? Is she imagining her dead brother? A lover? Her therapist? Tom the neighbor? I feel like if it was someone she knew she would just use their name instead of “he” and “his.” Ugh and now we have to wait until her next section. How ruuuudeeee.

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This is the end of my part 1 reaction! Part 2 will consist of pages 28 to 62!

#the girl on the train #live review #live react #book review #spoiler review #paula hawkins #book blog #book blogger

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amuhseen2003 · 3 years

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SANDERS SIDES KARAOKE: GOTHIC LITERATURE MUSICALS EDITION

Okay, so after four years of being in the Sanders Sides fandom, I’m going to attempt to write some headcanons. Here we go.

Since it’s well-known in fanon that the sides do have karaoke sessions, imagine what would happen if they sang musicals based on gothic literature.

Roman’s happy because broadway, duh, Logan is happy because it’s canon that he enjoys gothic literature since he dressed up as Frankenstein’s monster for Halloween, same reason for Virgil and Patton’s happy that his family is bonding. He made extra cookies for the occasion. He’s dangerous like that.

(I headcanon that when Thomas had to write analyses of gothic literature novels for school, Virgil, Roman and Logan would work together to come up with stuff and write the best essays in class and Patton would be so proud of them)

I’m not going to count Les Mis because I’m not too sure if that counts as gothic literature and whilst the Hunchback of Notre Dame is indeed gothic (trust me I read that in a plane once. An entire, like, ten pages is dedicated to describing the scenery) I don’t think it became a broadway show.

Now this isn’t like their usual karaoke nights, no sir. Just idly remaining in the living room won’t do. Where is the gusto? The pizazz? The accolade winning extravaganza? The-

“We get it Princey, can you just get on with it?” - Virgil

No, this type of singing can only be accompanied with an atmosphere that will do it justice. To the imagination they go and with Logan’s (who has practically memorised every single one of these books and is not geeking out at all) input on how the novels describe each setting, Roman creates very intricate landscapes for each song.

When they sing ‘Alive’ from ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ Roman thought that it would be really cool for Patton to play Mr Edward Hyde since Hyde is literally the human id and Patton, being the embodiment of morality, is literally the superego (although to be fair, Patton is also shown to be quite childish and impulsive since he’s also the base of Thomas’ emotions and Hyde is impulsive because he’s a way for Jekyll to act on his own emotions - especially since the only crime that Hyde does in the book are him over-reacting with his anger by beating a man to death. And in the novella, Jekyll writes that he and Hyde are like father and son and that Hyde is actually younger than Jekyll is, he does have that sense of childishness that Patton has only instead of that childishness being good and helpful, it’s bad and hurtful. Plus in the soundtrack of Alive, whilst Anthony Warlow does sing about how good being evil feels like, he also sounds like he is crying tears of joy of being able to be himself, the first words post-transformation being freedom and anyways these are supposed to be fun headcanons not analytical headcanons so I digress…)

Anyways Patton is happy to play the villain because “look kiddos, Roman conjured up this really swell cape” “the correct term is cloak” “and check out this top hat and cane!” and he’s just belting out the words and froliking around Victorian London without a care in the world, making his cape swoosh in the wind.

“Patton I would advise you not to take your shoes off. This is nineteenth-century London with people dying of cholera by the dozens, your feet could catch a myriad of infections.”

“Worry not, specs, the scenery is merely an illusion. I would never allow for our dear padre to succumb to the villain of illness”

“Aww, thanks kiddo (cue Patton’s sunshine smile) now where was I? IT’S THE FEELING OF BEING ALIVE! FILLED WITH EVIL AND TRULY ALIVE!”

They have Logan sing ‘I Need To Know’ because a doctor of science singing about wanting to expand his knowledge and having that thirst to do whatever it takes to get said knowledge. That is a Logan Sanders song right there. At first he’s like “why do I have to sing. I was happy enough giving directions and helping you with the scenery” but Roman creates this big scientific library that could rival the one from Beauty and the Beast/ laboratory from that’s practically the identical to Jekyll’s lab in the book and he’s like “Fine” like he isn’t enjoying himself. He is. They all know it. He’s not fooling anyone

Patton and Roman sing ‘Bring on the men’ together (yes, whilst wearing dresses) whilst Virgil and Logan drink apple juice from those big british beer glasses in the mind-scape created Red Rat (which Logan is quick to point out doesn’t exist and is vocally upset at how the musical adaptation added unnecessary romantic subplots with Lisa and Lucy when the book itself only had three background female characters who were only there for like one paragraph. He’s even more upset at the other inaccuracies with the book like how in the play Jekyll creates his formula as a cure for mental illness and Hyde was accidental whilst in the book he did it because he wanted to indulge in sin without fearing the consequences and Hyde, whilst not being exactly what he wanted, was actually created on purpose or how in the book Hyde only kills one man and in the musical he kills practically everyone except for the one person he did kill. Virgil pats him on the back with sympathy). Roman and Virgil are sniggering at the sexual euphemisms at the end of the song whilst Patton’s confused. She just seems really enthusiastic about food.

Roman sings both parts of ‘Confrontation’ by himself. He gets a standing ovation.

He also does ‘Transformation’. The problem is that he was so good at sounding like he was in complete agony and near death that they had to stop the song prematurely because Patton was getting upset. Don’t worry, Pat gets lots of cuddles by Roman afterwords.

(You know what I might do some sides reacting to The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde later because 1. It’s my favourite book and 2. All four of them would have very interesting takes on it)

From the Frankenstein musical Virgil plays the criminal from ‘Say Amen’ because he wants to (seriously, the guy’s first words in the song are ‘I curse the day that I was born into a world so black with hate’) and Logan plays Victor Frankenstein but Patton refuses for his son to even pretend to be executed by the noose so they have Roman play a man wearing a british executioner outfit with a foam sword and the creative side just bonks the anxious side on the neck with it. Logan despairs about the historical inaccuracy from his place in the stands whilst Patton is cheering next to him. Patton also hands him an extra jumper to keep him warm in the Switzerland cold.

“Patton, I am grateful that you are thinking of my health but no one in eighteenth century Switzerland wore bright blue jumpers with cartoon kittens on them”

“Really, Logan, are you paw-sitive?”

“I would like to change places with Virgil. Immediately”

Roman and Logan turn ‘Birth to my creation’ into a duet because Logan enjoys the scientific aspect of it and Roman can’t resist the drama (of course). He goes all out. He makes Victor’s lab perfect to the smallest detail (and cheers when Logan’s eyes start lighting up and he does that cute clappy thing when he’s excited), he conjures a storm and makes lightning strike at the best moments of the song. He even creates a ‘wretch’ (what Victor calls the monster in the book. I’ve heard that it’s name is Adam but all I remember from the novel is Victor calling himself god and the creature his Adam) to lie on the table.

“And we didn’t even have to go grave-robbing for it. Or drop out of University.” - Roman

“No matter how many times I wanted to.” - Virgil

Roman and Virgil do most of the songs from Dracula. The creative side creates this huge, expensive-looking window-balcony thing with glass double doors and billowing silk curtains so that he could dramatically sing ‘the longer I live’ whilst the wind blows through his hair and he dramatically drapes himself on the balustrade so that the light from the full moon hits his figure just right. Patton’s close to crying.

Logan is very eager to give as many facts as he can about nineteenth-century mental institutions for ‘The Master’s Song’. He gets really into the history behind certain treatments and different cases. Roman plays Renfield and the others play doctors.

Virgil is super into Dracula’s castle during ‘Life after life’. He and Roman duet that song wearing all-black. Logan tries to help Patton’s slight fear by telling him the history behind different pieces of architecture.

Patton plays Christine during Phantom of the Opera

Roman, Virgil and Logan sing ‘A story told’ from The Count of Monte Cristo around a circular table in a dimly lit tavern. Patton takes pictures and drinks hot chocolate in the sidelines.

#sanders sides #sanders sides headcanon #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #roman sanders #lamp #calm #lamp/calm

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maxwell-grant · 3 years

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May I please ask if you think it would be funnier to read a short comic showing Lois & Margo Lane doing their best to puzzle out whether they actually ARE related while casually acing their own adventure or would it be more entertaining to see them just act like old chums during some Shadow/Superman crossover without ever once explaining how they know each other long before their pet heroes met for the first time?

I think you got it backwards. The latter part is what could work best for a short comic where we just pit the two together briefly and have them bounce off each other without having to be introduced. The former, however? Not only is it funny, it’s also an incredible concept and easily what should be the main plot, or at least the driving subplot, of an actual Shadow/Superman crossover. While I had some ideas on how to connect the two thematically, I actually had little clue on where to even start intersecting The Shadow and Superman narratively, and while I knew the Lane ladies would have to be at the center of it, I didn’t know how to go on about it, until you dropped this great idea on me: Make the connection between these two the puzzle that starts to bring out everything else to the forefront.

Narratively speaking Margo and Lois do fulfill very similar roles, not so much due to them being “the hero’s girlfriend” (I mentioned before how I don’t think Margo needs to be a love interest to work, and neither does Lois for that matter), so much as they are often the viewpoints through which we interact with these larger-than-life multi-faced caped heroes, and both of these two are not at all content with just accepting their designated roles in these narratives, instead actively going out of their way to get closer and closer to danger and intrigue and the real truths behind them, sometimes to the frustration of said caped heroes.

They are intelligent, driven, fearless, classy and good-natured, and incredibly perceptive to the point they are often among the first or few characters to figure out the true nature of the hero they interact with. They tend to suffer from inconsistent writing and unfortunate stints as damsels-in-distress or reckless liabilities, but their foundation as characters is rock-solid and has allowed them to persist and thrive much more so than many other supporting characters of their franchises. Their incorrigible stubborness and headstrong dedication to their companions often means they are often the only ones who can get through to them and make themselves heard, when they get lost inside their own heads and the worlds they inhabit.

The main differences between the two, I’d argue, ultimately have more to do with the worlds they inhabit, their special skills and the roles they play on them. Lois is a journalist and reporter, Margo is a socialite and a secret agent. They both tend to act as spies who observe and report details on their targets, but Lois does so usually as part of her job and to expose their misdeeds publicly, where as Margo’s affairs are anything but public and usually don’t have endings as “clean” as those she spies on being sent to jail. Lois is defined by being an idealist, where as Margo is often more cynical (the biggest idealist among the agents being Harry). Lois is respected by her peers at work and has battled fiercely to get there, while Margo exploits the objectification, dismissal or disdain of men towards her to her advantage.

Lois has stayed largely consistent in job, physical appearence and skillset over the years, where as Margo changes these on the fly depending on the story. Lois’s origin and family life are a defining aspect of her personality. Margo’s backstory and family life change almost literally every time it gets touched on, usually with some form of tragedy in it. No matter what she encounters or how she deals with it, Lois is always firmly defined by the human perspective she brings to Superman and how she is “one of us”. Margo, even when she’s set up to play more grounded roles, still has degrees of separation from the average person and Shadow agent that makes it she is less “one of us”, and more “one of him”. And then of course there’s the whole question regarding whether or not the two are related, and how.

We have the above excerpts taken from the letters page of Superman Family #188, which states that the two share a common ancestor in Lazarus Lane. There’s been several Wold Newton fan pages establishing family trees for the Lanes that usually put Margo and Lois together, I recall one of which even establishes a line connecting Margo to Dr Jekyll, which is par the course for WNU sillyness but definitely an idea I think has potential.

The degree to which they are related or may interact may come down to how exactly does time factor into this hypothetical crossover. Is it set in the 30s, or in modern times? Are Margo and Lois the same age somehow, or is it Lois finding a Granny Margo and going on an adventure with her? In whose world is this story set in, or is it part of something bigger? What about the rest of the Lane family? Where are The Shadow and Superman during this? What’s causing time and space to bring these 4 together?

The premise of this being “they are related, but they don’t know how, and they are going on an adventure to discover what exactly is the connection between them while mysteries wrap up them as well as their heroes” is something that invites a lot of questions, which is great.

You really handed me the key to making this work with your ask.

#replies tag #the shadow #superman #margo lane #lois lane #crossover

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ducktracy · 4 years

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181. the case of the stuttering pig (1937)

disclaimer: this review contains antisemitic content, stereotypes, and imagery. i in no way endorse any of this, but it’s just as important to bring awareness to these depictions rather than shove them under the rug. please, PLEASE let me know if i make any mistakes or say something offensive, i want to take responsibility for my actions and use this as an opportunity to educate myself. any outside commentary is more than welcome. thank you for your patience and understanding.

release date: october 30th, 1937

series: looney tunes

director: frank tashlin

starring: mel blanc (porky, the guy in the third row), billy bletcher (lawyer goodwill), sara berner (petunia)

just in time for the halloween season, we explore one of tashlin’s best directorial efforts to date. the case of the stuttering pig (its title derived from the case of the stuttering bishop, a warner bros. film released only 4 months prior) is the first of many warner bros. cartoons to take a jab at the ever popular dr. jekyll and mr. hyde. here, porky and his family (4 brothers and petunia, who serves as his sister rather than a love interest) are terrorized by the nefarious lawyer goodwill, the family lawyer who turns himself into a mr. hyde facsimile, hoping to kill the family in order to snag some inheritance money.

frank tashlin’s cinematography is in peak form as the cartoon opens to a ghastly exposition--william tell’s “the storm” rages alongside a furious storm. intricate camera angles include an upshot on a giant old house, trees whipping in the wind against the flashing lightning, and a close up of the window shudders snapping against the exterior. the snaps of the window shudders soon melt into the droning tick of a clock inside, an upshot exposing dynamic, drawn out shadows against the walls. tashlin handles the contrast between values exceptionally well. backgrounds are crisp, clear, and pronounced.

cue a vertical pan of porky’s siblings (patrick, peter, percy, portus, and petunia) all lined up against the wall in a row of chairs. each appear apprehensive, obviously on edge. not porky, though. porky’s at the very end of the row, looking on with a hilariously blank smile plastered on his face.

suddenly, a knock at the door interrupts the silence. cue the famous tashlin jump cut: we only see volney white’s animation of porky jumping out of his seat, but the next shot reveals all of the siblings hanging from a chandelier, with porky trepidatiously inquiring “who-who-who-who-who-who’s theh-the-the-the-the-there...?” you can still feel mel’s attempts to distinguish his own unique porky stutter from the authentic stutter provided by joe dougherty--this delivery is more dougherty-esque than some of his others.

billy bletcher’s syrupy sweet vocals ring out from behind the door, the disembodied voice introducing himself as lawyer goodwill. the decision not to showcase who’s behind the door is a smart one. suspense is absolutely rife all throughout the cartoon, and the beginning is no exception. with a peppy “okey deh-eh-eh-deh-do... oh-oh-okey deh-deh... okay!”, porky is followed by his siblings as he happily allows this mysterious lawyer goodwill inside. the suddenly calm, almost wholesome atmosphere inside, reassured by the self-proclaimed friendly presence of lawyer goodwill is disrupted as soon as the door opens, wind howling and blowing the entire family down the hallway as goodwill fights his way inside, his face (and head, for that matter) completely concealed by his hat and collar. tashlin plays on this as goodwill removes his hat, a mere nub placed where his neck should be as a waterfall of rain pours out from the hat. nevertheless, goodwill reveals himself, a portly yet good-natured looking fellow as he tells the children it’s time to attend to “business”.

lawyer goodwill gathers the kids around to discuss the matter of their late uncle solomon (a pig caricature of oliver hardy, just one of a handful) and his will. the animation is slightly blurred and jittery from the double exposure effects of the shadows--animation historian mark kausler has this to say (transcribed from his excellent commentary that i’m partially parroting):

“they used to hand crank the cameras here. this was before electric drive animation cameras--that’s why the shadows are so flickery, because they had to back the film up and then re-expose it to get the transparency of the shadow.”

uncle solomon’s will states that his heirs will inherit his money. however, if something were to happen to them, then lawyer goodwill gets the cash instead. goodwill exits the house, reassuring that nothing will happen to the kids... “...i hope!”

there’s a gorgeous, moody upshot of the porch as goodwill lumbers down the steps. volney white is at the hand of this scene, easy to spot thanks to his telltale speed: goodwill practically glides across the screen as he heads towards offscreen, only to whip back and put a hand over his hear, nefariously straining to hear if he’s being followed. volney’s pose and expression are as strong as ever--i made a reel of his animation awhile ago if you’d like to check it out!

bob bentley takes over to animate goodwill’s transformation into the monster--his animation is very meticulous and well crafted. a good way to spot him is to see if characters have thicker eyebrows in some scenes than others. goodwill swaps clothes in favor of a hat and cape almost effortlessly, gliding across the screen like butter. the flow isn’t interrupted, not even by the overlay of tables decorated with test tubes, skulls, etc.

all of goodwill’s potential queries on how to transform into a hideous beast are answered with a bottle of “jekyll and hide juice” (starting at only $9.99! call now and get another FREE at no cost to you! it’s a steal, folks!) nestled conveniently on his shelf of various poisons. he pours the concoction into a cocktail, acting like a regular bartender as he shows off by pouring the mixture from glass to glass. tashlin’s timing, both behaviorally and comically, are succinct as goodwill finally downs the mixture. he grips the table, taking heaving breaths, staring at the audience, until... nothing. he heaves a dubious shrug.

instead, goodwill opts to use a milkshake mixer (a relatively new invention whose novelty value would have scored much bigger laughs then than it does today, but still remains amusing at the very least) to mix his concoction, downing it once more.

bob bentley’s animation of the monster is nothing short of gorgeous. well defined, well crafted, and dimensional. however, it does encapsulate antisemitic stereotypes and caricatures, from the big nose to clawed hands and pointy ears, as well as the desire for money. as skillful as the animation is, and as solid as the cartoon is, these are problems that still need to be addressed. understand that when i’m praising the animation, i’m focusing on the techniques themselves and the technicalities behind it, not the content that’s being animated itself. (thank you anon for taking the time to educate me! it’s much appreciated.)

billy bletcher snarls in his trademark deep voice, even quipping “you wouldn’t think i was lawyer goodwill now, would you?” he talks directly to the audience, getting right close in their face, jabbing his spindly finger and bulbous nose. he even goes as far as to berate his public by screeching “you bunch of softies! YEAH, YOU IN THE THIRD ROW! ya BIG SOFTIE!” the fourth wall breaking is nothing short of genius. just IMAGINE seeing this in a dark, packed movie theater! the effect would be phenomenal! (especially if you were the guy in the third row! i’m sure all of the third-row-sitting patrons felt quite satisfied at these showings.) the monster vows to dispose of the family, sneering at our inability to help save our heroes.

said heroes are contentedly socializing in the living room, peppy porky talking about how safe and sound they are in their own little house. so, of course, that serves as the cue for a gnarly hand to grab the light switch and kill the lights. i love the detail of the shadow creeping along the wall before you even see the hand itself--little decisions like that go such a long way.

the lights go out, and all we hear is the pluck of an electric slide guitar. the lights come on, and one of porky’s alliteratively named siblings is gone, with an x cleverly marked in his place. the ritual occurs four times, with porky remarking each of the names of his fallen siblings (”peh-peh-patrick!” “eh-peh-peh-peh-eh-peter!” “eh-peh-peh-eh-peh-percy!” “puh-portus!”). the lights go out once more, and x’s mark where porky and petunia were just sitting prior. definitely an artsy and interesting way to convey the kidnappings--even more so when we see porky and petunia trepidatiously popping their heads out from behind the armchair after the camera trucks in on their deserted spot.

volney white animates the close up of petunia clutching to porky, stuttering (from fear, that is) “g-g-gee, p-p-porky, i’m scared!” her voice here is provided by sara berner as opposed to berneice hansell, who voiced her in her last appearance in porky’s romance. ironically, hansell would take over for petunia again after bob clampett adopted (and subsequently redesigned) her character. you can hear the evolution of her voice here.

porky reassures her that they’ll find the brothers as we cue a clever pan from inside to outside the house, spotlighting the basement. the backgrounds are so gorgeous and moody! we find the pigs tied up in stocks, with the monster sneering about how he’ll do away with all the pigs once he nabs porky and petunia. once more, our ever-aware villain resorts to heckling the poor sap in the third row: “and if that guy in the third row comes up, I’LL FIX HIM TOO! you big CREAMPUFF!” again--this is exceedingly entertaining to watch 83 years later on a laptop screen, but imagine what a riot this would be in theaters! frank tashlin understood that the audience was paying to watch his cartoons, and he knew how to make it worth their time. the cartoons catered to the audience rather than the studio executives always make for the best ones--tex avery was especially keen of this, as we’ll soon explore.

back to porky and petunia, both cautiously traipsing down the hallway as porky calls the names of his fallen brothers, both straining to hear any signs of life. while the poses aren’t nearly pushed to the same extremes as they would be in tashlin’s second directorial stint from 1943-1946, they’re still quite nice and accentuated just enough. certainly stronger than the poses present in the other directors’ cartoons. seeing as tashlin was a newspaper cartoonist, his illustrative, comic look translates well into his own cartoons. it’s almost as if his comic art has leapt right off the page, but also meshes well enough with the animation to have a good sense of motion to it. it’s the best of both worlds.

while porky is unaware, petunia is yanked off screen by a hand protruding from a trick wall panel. suddenly, the villain himself tinkers behind porky, mimicking his movements. porky even manages to grab a hold of his gangly hand, assuming it’s petunia, going so far as to look him straight in the eyes and shush him. the volney white animated villain looks strikingly different than that of bob bentley’s--volney’s is exceedingly more streamlined and design driven, especially around the eyes. he’s not nearly as hairy, grotesque, or dimensional. not that that’s a bad thing! in fact, i love when animators are able to make their styles so distinguishable from the other animators. not only is it fun, it makes identifying animation much easier.

when porky finally realizes that he’s being stalked by the monster, he does the signature volney white eye take and runs for the hills, er, stairs. tashlin’s speed dominates as porky scales flights of stairs at lightning speeds--it’s dizzying to even watch! eventually, porky jumps right into the arms of the monster, clinging to him (thinking it’s petunia) as he describes what he just saw: “i eh-seh-saw the most teh-teh-teh-eh--awful leh-leh-lookin’ man, all beh-beh-big and beh-beh-eh-bleh-black... beh-beh-BIG teeth...” all the while, porky is grabbing onto the villain’s nose and clinging to him like a baby. the animation is positively hilarious, especially when porky recognizes who he’s being cradled by, actually connecting nose to snout as he lets out a scream and barrels down the staircase once more, the same footage from before just in reverse. a wonderful scene with great dialogue and hilarious animation. bob clampett would borrow this in his own jeepers creepers just two years later, with a ghost in place of the monster.

porky locks himself in the basement, discovering his siblings tied up in stocks (”leh-leh-land sakes alive!”), his attempts to free them interrupted by the sound of the villain knocking the door down. interestingly enough, after we pan to the monster infiltrating the premises, the next shot is the entire family huddled in a corner, indicating that porky did manage to free them after all. the technique is reminiscent of the cartoon’s beginning, where we see only porky jump out of his seat before showing all of the siblings hiding in the chandelier.

just as it looks like the pig family is bacon, a random chair from offscreen is lobbed at the monster, sending him tumbling right into the stocks. the family is just as perplexed as the viewer, asking in unison “who DID that?”

“ME!” mel blanc’s gruff, more natural voice rings out from behind the screen. the locked up monster ogles at the audience, pointing a gangly finger as he snarls “who are YOU?” mel’s tough guy new yoik accent snarls back “I’M DA GUY IN DA THOID ROW, YA BIG SOURPUSS!” iris out on a deflated, dejected villain--just IMAGINE witnessing this in real time in the theaters!

this cartoon is one of the reasons why frank tashlin is one of my favorite directors of all time. it’s got all of the tashlin essentiasl. the effects animation by A.C. gamer at the beginning is lovely, doing a wonderful job of establishing such an eerie mood. the raging, wild storm juxtaposes perfectly with the unsettlingly still atmosphere inside the house. lawyer goodwill makes an excellent villain, topped off with billy bletcher’s vocals and bob bentley’s skilled animation. the constant fourth wall breaking with him... need i say more? it’s such a great way to involve the audience with the picture and really suck in their attention, especially that ending. the animation is excellent, the backgrounds are gorgeous, it’s absolutely rife with atmosphere. this is tashlin’s best effort thus far and one of his best efforts overall.

however, the antisemitic stereotypes and caricatures should be accounted for. while i do say you should watch this one to get an idea of frank tashlin’s mastery as a director, tread with caution and discretion. i absolutely don’t endorse these concepts. so, if you do want to watch it, you can go to HBOmax or click this link, just be advised.

#lt #looney tunes #the case of the stuttering pig #reviews #tashlin #long post #antisemitism tw

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therachelperspective · 3 years

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TV | Penny Dreadful (2014-2016)

This review has sat in my drafts for over a year. (It’s been a weird year, don’t judge me). Although I had a few notes sufficient enough to write a review from and could have probably have finished and posted something by now, I will honestly say that I have pondered Penny Dreadful this entire period of time. Even as I watch other series and take part in other media, every so often my mind wanders back to Penny Dreadful. Whether the show intrigued me or irked me has not entirely been decided, to the point where I am almost feel hastened to watch the show again with more attentiveness. But, just as I feel about Marvel’s Iron Fist series, I’m not sure I want to endure some of the more vexing qualities of Penny Dreadful a second time around (though I sadly will for Iron Fist as I once again attempt to complete the entire Defenders collection).

Let’s see what I can make of my long-stored memories.

Penny Dreadful derives its name from what is essentially Victorian England’s version of a comic book, typically with narratives of crime or violence. As per Britannica, these eight-page installments – also called “dime novels” or “bloods” – were carelessly written second-rate works full of gory themes. While I wouldn’t say the series to be careless or second-rate, it definitely hits the crime, violence, and horror right on the nose to give its namesake proper honor.

Set in the late 1800s, Penny Dreadful bears resemblance to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in that it includes characters from various works of classic literature, though Penny Dreadful sticks to the obvious era of Victorian Gothic. Although its main characters Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton), Vanessa Ives (Eva Green), and Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) were created for the show, its supporting cast are directly named after major literary characters – Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney), Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) and his Creature (Rory Kinnear), as well as brief appearances throughout by Mina Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, Dr. Henry Jekyll (sadly, while the science is included, Jekyll’s own counterpart Hyde was not), Dracula, and Justine (from The Misfortunes of Virtue). It has been discussed online that the character of Malcolm is based on famed adventurer Allan Quartermain from King Solomon’s Mines and, by name, obviously a derivative of Mina Murray’s father from Dracula; however, he was not mentioned in the novel. Similarly, Vanessa Ives is said to be based on Mina’s best friend Lucy Westenra. Furthermore, the story arc of Brona, who then becomes “Lily Frankenstein,” shares obvious similarities to that of the Bride of Frankenstein.

The rich inspiration from classic literature is what initially drew me to watch Penny Dreadful, along with the hype I read when it was initially released in 2014. Despite the fact that I am typically not one for horror-based film or television, I undertook the task regardless. Per my usual reasoning (I swear I write this in everything and I apologize lol), I wanted to discover for myself if it was truly as great as the critics say. And dare I say, it was actually true for the first season. I remember posting something on Instagram stating how I understood the public interest in the show and that I was excited to continue on. While it has no doubt been some time since I’ve viewed the material, I distinctly remember my personal fascination dwindle shortly thereafter. Had I any sort of ability to abandon the media I try to consume, it might have caused me to not finish the show. But alas, I’m one of those hopefuls that thinks maybe it will get better. Plus, can you really say you watched something if you didn’t watch the entire thing? My answer: no. Must watch it all to have a proper opinion!

Wherein the first season focuses primarily on finding a kidnapped Mina Murray, with tolerable amounts of arc for Frankenstein, his creature, the mysterious Ethan Chandler, and Dorian Gray... the latter seasons revolving around witches and “nightcomers” (season two), and Dracula (season three) – as well as the constant battles between Frankenstein’s scientist vs. his creations, the dragged out uncovering of Ethan’s background, and Dorian’s inability to keep it in his pants – just didn’t seem to have the same charm to me as the initial season. Maybe it was the story? Were these the best “big bads” writers could come up with? I suppose, yes, considering the source material of that particular period, there’s only so much to work with. But to have the first season’s enemy be simply a vampire and the third season’s Dracula, it seems to me like missed opportunity (like using Dracula in his actual storyline) or they were really just recycling material. You used vampires once already; was doing it again with one buffer season in between really your only option?

Other nagging details that truthfully somewhat prevent me from watching the series again include things like: how much of Vanessa’s “dialogue” actually includes Eva Green’s ability to make guttural sounds; how certain arcs overwhelmed the series (like Frankenstein’s Creature and Lily, though kudos to Penny Dreadful for exploring their thoughts/feelings that other films or shows have not), compared to others tales that were not fleshed out enough; characters from literature left me wanting more, even if I did already know their mythos (Dorian, for example, was merely only a brief glimpse at his portrait, no explanation of its mysticism); and lastly, Lily’s entire story felt too much for me. While I admire the show’s portrayal of feminism, body autonomy, and a sense of sisterhood amongst Lily and her “army,” her approach to these topics also felt preachy and eventually fell more into a “savior” complex. I can understand the rediscovery of life as a newly reanimated human, re-comprehending life and death, not allowing any man to “own” her purely based on his say-so... but the way the show writers approached it was not my favorite. Billie Piper was great in her role, but towards the end of her arc, I was bored with Lily’s endeavors.

My biggest pet peeve surrounding this show, however, was actual a very random detail – Ethan and Brona (Lily, in her previous life) had a very intense relationship during the first season before she succumbs to illness. How is it, despite both of their prominence in the show and their respective arcs, as well as mutual acquaintances with other characters, that Ethan never ever crossed paths with Lily at all once she was reborn? Was it because he would obviously recognize her as Brona and writers didn’t know how to incorporate that detail into the show? Was it because they wanted Lily to remain purely a character in Frankenstein’s and Dorian’s arcs? Someone please answer this for me, because it drives me nuts.

All in all, Penny Dreadful started strong and I did enjoy it at first, but its subsequent seasons and finale felt less than spectacular. What was once an enjoyable suspenseful thriller turned into a psychological drama looking to interpret everyone’s personal issues and traumas rather than working together for a common, supernatural cause. Where the first season saw everyone as a collective group, I feel the show slowly but surely lost its charm by increasing their solo arcs without much interaction amongst everyone as a whole. It’s not to say that they never spoke to one another (Ethan and Lily being the exception), but their interactivity became increasingly minimal. I will give writers some credit in that, for some characters, this solitude reflected their emotions and was necessary for their arc. But maybe I just believe the show was better when the ensemble was a more cohesive whole.

#tv #television #tv show #television show #penny dreadful #eva green #josh hartnett #vanessa ives #ethan chandler #dracula #dorian gray #frankenstein #bride of frankenstein

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i-am-a-closet-fanfic-fiend · 5 years

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Queer Eye for the Cap Guy ~ Part 6

A/N: Hello my darling lovelies! So as you all know I’ve been on hiatus. I am still sort of on hiatus. I don’t really know what will come when, but things are settling so I’m hoping to share more with you in the near future. But for now. The long awaited (at least on my end) Karamo section his here. This took a really long time, because I didn’t feel like I was doing Steve’s character justice, and I hope that I did.

Also thanks a million to @supermusicallee for listening to me rant my way through every incarnation of this scene.

Summary: Karamo talks to Steve about his self-image. Who really knows Steve Rogers

Rating: T

Warnings; Angst, honestly this one is heavy. It deals with Steve’s feelings of inadequacy both before and after the serum. Mentions character deaths and survivor’s guilt. It ends I hope in an uplifting way, but Steve’s got baggage and this is me trying to unpack it

Word Count: 2389

Steve and Jonathan were chatting casually when Karamo arrived.

“Oh. My. God. You look amazing.”

“Jonathan does great work,” Steve replied, deflecting the compliment but couldn’t hide his smile.

“I mean I do,” Jonathan agreed, “But it’s not just that.”

Karamo seemed stunned by the change in Steve.

“You are glowing. How do you feel?”

“I feel great. Honestly. I like what I see when I look in the mirror,” he added softly.

Karamo and Jonathan beamed at him.

“Awesome. Awesome. Well are you ready to spend some time with me?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Alright then, let’s go.”

Steve hugged Jonathan one more time and followed Karamo out to the truck.

“So a little birdie told me that you always dreamed about taking art classes at the Brooklyn Academy of the Arts.”

“Once upon a time, yeah.”

“Well, we’re going to check out a class today.”

“Really?” Steve couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes, sir. And here we are.”

“Welcome, class. Today we’re working on our shadow perspective. And then we’ll work on our self-portraits.”

Steve was all smiles as they taught about how to use shadows in your art to add depth, and enhance human features. But that faded somewhat when they started working on the self-portraits.

The crease in his brow deepened with each swipe of charcoal on the canvas. Still, the completed piece was beautiful.

“You are very talented, Captain Rogers.”

Steve’s cheeks reddened with the praise at the instructor’s comment.

“Thank you. And thank you for the lesson, it was enlightening.”

“Thank you so much. Do you mind if we hang out in here for a while?” Karamo asked as he shook hands.

“Take as much time as you like,” she offered before exiting the room.

Both men sat back down in front of their easels, Steve adding a few more details to his sketch.

“Thank you for bringing me here.”

“You’re welcome. But I didn’t just bring you here for art lessons. I wanted to really get a chance to talk to you.”

Steve nodded. He’d been expecting this. And he’d been dreading it.

“You mentioned at the beginning of the week that you wanted to find a future, and I want to help you do that. But we can’t talk about your future until we talk about your past and your present. Now I didn’t just pick this class for you to learn some techniques. So let’s take a look at how you see yourself. What’s going on in this?”

He gestured to the sketch of Steve in his uniform and helmet holding his shield. It was incredibly detailed down to char marks on the shield and the texturing on the suit. But his face was hidden by the helmet.

“It’s me.”

“I want you to tell me what about this sketch is you. Because I just see Captain America. Where does Steve Rogers show up? ”

Steve let out a sad laugh.

“He’s in there. They’re pretty much the same person.”

“You weren’t always Captain America.”

“Don’t think that skinny kid from Brooklyn was all that interesting,” Steve scoffed.

“And what about the man that you are now? He’s not Captain America.”

“He’s not all that interesting either. People don’t care about the man behind the cowl.”

Steve smudged his finger along the charcoal lines of his jaw, softening it slightly.

“Do you care about the man behind the cowl?”

“I-,” Steve clamped his mouth shut as the question seemed to rattle into his bones.

“Since you got the serum have you ever defined yourself as something outside of Captain America?”

“I mean I left the shield behind when everything happened with Tony. I wasn’t Captain America then.”

“But were you Steve Rogers or were you just not Captain America?” Karamo gestured firmly with his hands.

“I guess the second one. But I didn’t really think about it. We were all so focused on not getting caught, and maybe actually still managing to do some good. Though that was questionable.”

Leaning forward in his seat Karamo studied Steve’s facial expressions.

“Did you want to be Captain America again?”

“After I was pardoned you mean?”

“Before or after. I’m just curious if that was what you were fighting for.”

Steve was silent again, observing his own sketch.

“I guess so. I mean at this point it feels like all I’ve ever known.”

“But is it what you want?”

“I want to help people. I can do that as Captain America.”

“Is that the only way you can do that though?”

“Feels like it sometimes. I went into the ice, one hundred percent certain that that was the end. I chose. And I’d make the choice again. My life against thousands, no question. I was at peace with that decision when I went into the ice. And then I woke up. Seventy years in the future.”

His voice was tight as he spoke, eyes shining with unshed tears.

“And suddenly Captain America is a legend, something bigger than I could have ever dreamed. I saw what he meant to people, and I thought it was a good way to get back into the world. To do good in the world. I’m not quite sure I ever deserved the mantle at least in its current incarnation, but once I had it I couldn’t separate myself from it. Until it all came crashing down and I had to choose. I couldn’t pretend the man that I was and the persona of the perfect soldier were the same person. They never really were.”

“And the man that you are? Who is he?”

“Just a guy from Brooklyn. He used to be a hero. But he’s not all that important anymore.”

Karamo held his hand up.

“I’m going to stop you. You, Steve Rogers, are important to a lot of people. Not as Captain America, as you. I had the opportunity to talk to some of your teammates on Tuesday. Do you know what they talked about?”

“Not a clue.”

“Well, they didn’t talk about missions or press conferences. They told me how you make their lives better by being you. Natasha told me about the family dinners you organized. And the time you and Bucky spent the afternoon winning stuffed animals for little kids and Coney Island. Y/n talked about how you sneak her chocolate when she’s in the med bay and that you’ll re-watch her favorite Disney movies just to make her smile. And Sam told me about you learning how to lead support groups for returning vets. You mean everything to those people. And you’ve touched so many other lives, your other teammates, those kids, those veterans. You mean something to every single one of them. The only person who thinks for even a second that Steve Rogers doesn’t matter, is you. Can you tell me why that is?”

“Because I don’t deserve it. Captain America has saved people. All I’ve ever done is get people killed,” he spoke clearly, confidently, and Karamo could see that Steve believed that down to his very bones.

“So you’re telling me that every time you failed that was you, but every time you won it was Captain America?”

Steve nodded.

“That’s not how it works. Captain America and Steve Rogers aren’t Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. All of your bad isn’t in one and your good in the other.”

“Maybe not. But Captain America is a national treasure. Steve Rogers is a footnote in his history. I am a footnote in his history.”

Tears which Steve had managed to keep at bay finally broke through the dam, wetting his cheeks. Karamo reached out to comfort him with a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Before the serum, I was nothing but a burden. My Ma raised me all on her own, and I couldn’t do a damn thing to help her. I was so sick. Every time I got a job I’d get hit by some sort of illness. She was taking care of me and everyone else around her until the day she died. Bucky was the only one who didn’t see me as something to wipe off their shoes before they came in the house, but even then he was trying to take care of me, pulling me out of alleys or dragging me to his house so he knew I’d eaten.”

Steve quieted for a moment, taking a deep breath before continuing.

“Even when he’d left for the army he was trying to look out for me, he’d wanted me to stay with his mom and his little sister, but I met Dr. Erskine that night. I was never really of any use to anybody. And then I got this body and the first thing I did was let the man who’d believed in me die. And in no time flat I led Bucky to the same fate. Actually a worse fate, given what he went through. I’ve got blood on my hands that nearly a century in the ice couldn’t wash away. Nothing could ever wash it away. But that’s not in the history books now is it?”

Angry sobs racked the super soldier, and his head fell to Karamo’s shoulder. The culture expert simply held him as he cried.

“There’s always been a part of me that was relieved to lean in to the façade when I came out of the ice. I could chalk most things up to waking up in a new century. It didn’t take long to figure out what people expected and after that it was easy to act accordingly. I chose to leave Steve Rogers behind because I couldn’t face what I’d done. I think I thought I was honoring those I’d gotten killed in a way, by being a hero and pushing aside the pain. I was Captain America and that’s who they died for after all. But when I came face to face with Bucky on that bridge, that wall crumbled and every ounce of guilt I’ve ever felt consumed me. I couldn’t push the man down anymore, and then more people got hurt because I wasn’t being Captain America. I don’t regret what I did with Bucky and the Accords but I regret that so many people were hurt on my watch. I’m not sure how to live with that. I feel like tarnished the one good thing I had brought to the world. The shield.”

“You are such a good person, Steve, and you have brought so many good things to the world. People believe in you not in the shield. Yes, there are always consequences for our actions and there are things that we have to own. But there is a line between taking responsibility and blaming yourself. You did not let anybody die. You didn’t choose that. Terrible things happened, but just because you weren’t able to prevent them doesn’t mean you let them happen,” Karamo assured him.

“I should have been able to stop it,” Steve argued half-heartedly, his breath was still ragged.

“I know the serum gave you super strength and probably a lot of other things we don’t know about, but it didn’t make you perfect.”

“That I know,” he murmured humorlessly.

“Would you say that you tried to be superhuman after the serum?”

He was already shaking his head.

“I just wanted to be good enough.”

“It is good enough to be exactly who you are. That’s not to say that you can’t improve. But you are human. We succeed and we fail. And we grow from it. The thing about symbols is that they are whatever people want them to be. You need to be what you want to be. And that doesn’t mean good enough. And it doesn’t mean Captain America. It means Steve through and through. Come with me.”

Steve reluctantly followed him to the large mirror. It was cloudy and streaked with specks of paint but he was still faced with his reflection.

“Tell me who you see.”

It was a long time before he spoke. Steve had been looking in mirrors all week. And he hadn’t been lying when he told Tan and Jonathan that he liked what he saw, but he hadn’t realized just how little he felt like it was him he was looking back at.

“Is he Captain America?” Karamo pressed.

“No,” he shook his head. “But he’s not that skinny kid from Brooklyn either.”

Steve stared hard, looking for himself in what he saw, and finally he saw it. The set of his jaw as he focused on the task at hand. It had never changed, no matter how big he got.

“He’s me. But a new version. Someone I don’t quite know yet.”

‘Who do you want to be?”

“I want to be someone who’s not afraid to let people in. I want to be close to people, to let them see who I really am.”

“Good. Good. And you know what? You have already taken the first step. You let me and the other guys in. You have been so open with us and I hope that you can continue that with your friends.”

“I do too. Thank you.”

“You��re welcome. Now, there’s one more thing I need you to do.”

“What?”

“I want you to look in the mirror and tell yourself ‘I am enough.’. Go on.”

“I’m enough,” Steve mumbled, not looking at his reflection.

“No, eyes on you.”

“I am enough,” he murmured a little louder this time.

“Scream it.”

“I AM ENOUGH!”

He yelled to get Karamo off his back, but Steve’s voice carried through the halls of the building and echoed back to him. Through him. And for the first time he believed it.

“I am enough,” he whispered softly in acceptance. Karamo Interview

“Steve has spent so much time separating himself from his public identity that he’s completely forgotten who he is. And it doesn’t seem like he wanted to know. He has convinced himself that the people around him are only there because he’s Captain America, but that is so not true. They love him for who he is, but he had to love himself for who he is. And he’s on his way to do that, as he lets go of the pain and the guilt and just be Steve for the first time in maybe ever.

~~~~~~~~

A/N: I hope that you enjoyed and that I did this justice. Thank you so much for reading! I’m planning two more parts probably but the last part will be very long I think so it may be broken out. I don’t have timeline but once I know what’s going on I’ll let you know. I’ve missed you all my darlings. Hope all is well.

Tag lists are open

Queer Eye for the Cap Guy Tag List @a-random-queer-kid @mimisparkle12 @phoenix-whiskey-tears @taliarosej00 @cs-please

Steve/Chris Tag List @isaxhorror @peachykeen3502 @patzammit @wordlesscaptain @coffeebooksandfandom @hereisanapplepie @mywinterwolf @straightforwardly

Marvel Tag List @hdthdthdt @sophiatomlinson23 @misty-panther @supermusicallee @scarlettsoldier @acupofhotlatte @slender--spirit @petitesmate @libbymouse

Permanent Tag List @iamwarrenspeace @jayzayy @bexboo616 @neoqueen306 @santheweird @rowenaravencalw @buckitybarnes @prxttybirdz @sergeantjbuckybarnes @captainsamwlsn @broitsmydick @ailynalonso15 @nyxveracity @queenoftrash97 @walkingtravesty97 @lamia-maizat @memyselfandmaddox @lowkeybuckyb @whiskey2011 @averyrogers83 @lovingpeterparker @buckybarneshairpullingkink @beansparker @coralphantomninja @xxashy999xx @thisismysecrethappyplace @ravennightingaleandavatempus @paintballkid711 @whosmarisaaarw @silverkitten547 @yknott81 @mmmmmmmmmchicken @thefridgeismybestie @crispy-kitten @isabelcrichards @greyeyedsmile14 @loving-life-my-way

#Queer Eye for the Cap Guy #Steve gets queer eyed #Cap gets queer eyed #Part 6

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amplesalty · 4 years

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The Invisible Man (2020)

You can’t see me!

The classic Universal Monsters lineup has been something of a frequent talking point on this blog, as has the ongoing attempts to reboot it in the realm of an Marvel style shared universe. Not so much ongoing anymore mind you. As mentioned during last October’s ‘House of Dracula’ post, everything has been scaled back and moving forward any entries are going to be more standalone stories. Maybe Marvel has a lot to answer for for making the concept of a shared universe so desirable to its competitors. Big business will always strive to copy the success of someone else so it was only natural that Universal and DC would set out to make its own version of it but both to limited success and both have ended up scaling back their visions. I don’t know if the shared universe idea was really that prominent beforehand and there’s only the odd one or two since like building towards the next Godzilla vs King Kong or the crossover between Unbreakable and Split leading to Glass.

For this Dark Universe, without looking into it properly it can be a little confusing knowing exactly what was meant to be part of it. I guess that’s just due to the public domain status of a lot of these characters. 2017’s The Mummy was the first time I remember hearing about the shared universe idea, mostly down to them announcing the wider casting for characters like Jekyll and The Invisible Man. But there’s been other notable monster related movies released, just off the top of my head over the last decade or so we’ve had Dracula Untold, I Frankenstein and Victor Frankenstein. Turns out only Dracula from that list was in universe but, as is tradition, got quickly downplayed when it underperformed. And that’s not even mentioning all the less well known releases that have come out. I never saw any of the those though, Victor Frankenstein is probably one I would look at due to McAvoy and Radcliffe. The Mummy holds a certain morbid curiosity in spite of its horrible reviews, maybe just to get a glimpse of what it is they were going for as I know Jekyll shows up in that one.

No doubt due to my affinity towards the 1933 Invisible Man, I was compelled to actually go see this remake but managed to stay entirely away from any hype or even basic details about the movie. I’ve had the trailer come up a few times on my Twitter timeline but avoided that as I’d heard that it basically gives away most of the movie. The first chance for me to really get an idea about the film was in the rating card shown just before it started which mentions the usual strong language, graphic violence etc etc but right there at the end is domestic abuse. If that wasn’t enough, the entire opening of Elisabeth Moss’ Cecilia character trying to sneak away from her controlling boyfriend in the middle of the night, sneaking around the house trying to collect her belongings and trying to not make any noise like she’s in A Quiet Place or something really sets the tone for the overall feeling of manipulation and control that runs throughout the entire piece.

Still haven’t got that legacy collection for the Invisible Man (though it apparently does exist now which it didn’t last time I checked) so perhaps it does a reverse Nightmare on Elm St and gets more serious as it goes along but that 1933 original really was playing silly buggers at times. I’ve probably talked about this before but I remember reading this interview with Jack Black around time he was promoting that Goosebumps movie. He was talking about horror movies that he liked and mentioned the Universal movies, The Invisible Man specifically highlighting its slapstick comedy that he likened to the Three Stooges. Obviously that’s a big part of why I love that version but this is about as polar opposite as you can get.

Here there’s just this dark and oppressive mood throughout, that idea of control transcending the relationship of Cecilia Kass and Adrian Griffin, taking over her entire life and almost beyond the screen itself. For Cecilia, it starts out with her just trying to rebuild her life now that she’s out of this toxic relationship but struggiling to even step foot outside the front door when every little noise puts her in a panic state, thinking that Griffin has tracked her down. As part of the modernisation, Griffin is some sort of tech millionaire dealing in security cameras and systems so that also plays as part as Cecilia is looking up stories about hacking and people taking control of webcams. As an aside, I don’t know what it is about the interior decorating of the super rich that lends itself to just completely empty houses. Like, I dread to think what I would be like with money considering I hoard enough as it is now. I would probably just have a mansion full of junk but I remember thinking this whilst watching Dr. Strange last year, he had this apartment that was just empty bar the odd statue or chair. Here, Griffin’s bedroom seems to be this massive room with one glass wall overlooking the sea, his bed in the centre being the only thing in it.

So even though Cecilia is out of this relationship, she’s not really out of Griffin’s control because he’s still very much in her head even though he’s not around. OR IS HE?!

And this is what I thought was really cool about this movie. It’s one thing to sympathize with this character but at times it felt like I was being manipulated as well. Cecilia would start to feel a presence around her, even if there was no one there that she could see. The visual direction really adds to this as well, using shots that are meant to imply that it’s from someone else’s viewpoint, looking at Cecilia or another part of the house. Or lingering on shots of what is pretty much just empty space for just a little too long, making you think something is about to happen or something is happening in a very subtle way.

It’s a very weird, sort of meta experience because they’ve done nothing up to this point to establish that invisibility is a factor but you obviously know going into it that it is and you can infer that he would be the one to do it since he is the defacto bad guy and if you’re a little more in the know, he’s called Griffin so obvs, right? But whilst they’re lingering on these shots of a sofa or a window frame, I found myself looking for signs of activity; an indentation on the sofa or a rustling of the curtains. I always talk about how I love movies that tread this line of whether or not the threat that is taking place is actually real or just in characters head and this movie is pretty much entirely that, it’s like Gaslighting: The Movie. But worse than that, now it feels like it’s screwing with me and getting in my head. Did I just see those curtains twitch or is it my overactive imagination?

Aside from adding that extra layer of paranoia to Cecilia’s character, the modernisation and use of technology really works well in how they handle the invisibility as well. Felt like a very realistic way to do it. There’s something creepy about the look of it as well, ditching the bandages of the past, though there are a couple of nods to that and that classic trench coat, scarf and hat look.

I think the only thing I was slightly confused with was the relationship between Cecilia and the person she ends up staying with, James. When she first walks out on Griffin, her sister picks her up so I figured he’s her boyfriend and he makes mention that he promised her sister that he’d help her try and get over he agoraphobic tendencies. But then the sister knocks on the door and they don’t act like BF/GF so okay, is there a third sister we’ve not met yet? Then later on the sister receives an email from ‘Cecilia’ saying that she doesn’t want anything more to do with her and the screen briefly shows snippets of the email, predominantly something along the lines of ‘I wish you had died instead of...’ but you don’t see how she’s referencing. So my thought was that the other sister had died and James was her widow? But I think that’s all me just putting 2 and 2 together and making 5, I guess they’re just old friends and that’s about it.

Overall, really enjoyed the movie and definitely one checking out. Unlike those other modern Universal monster movies it’s actually doing pretty well for itself too, financially and critically. Where does the Dark Universe go from here? Well, apparently there were no post credits for this (as I read and didn’t bother staying to fact check) but the ending leaves the potential for a sequel. And funnily enough, Elizabeth Banks is attached to direct and star in ‘The Invisible Woman’. Plus there’s still the oft talked about Bride of Frankenstein remake and a Dexter Fletcher directed Renfield movie? That one I would be interested in, always like the Renfield/Harker character in the different Dracula adaptations. That reminds me, never did post about the BBC finale...

#The Invisible Man #Dark Universe

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vicemirrored-a · 4 years

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So, it turns out that I've been a writer with an interest in Victorian society for three years and never found out that blogs like these are a thing? I'm very much intrigued but also a little confused. You seem like an expert so it'd be great if you could point me in the right direction to get started, thanks :)

hello! i’d be delighted to help you. i’ll try to explain the basics, but if you have any questions after that, please feel more than free to message me further. i hope you’re okay with me posting this -- i thought it could help other people!

so, to explain, this is a roleplay blog. people make them for loads of characters, both from established fiction and of their own creation. some people have a blog for just one character, like this one, while others have a blog that holds multiple characters, like another one of mine you can find here. whichever one you prefer is really up to you.

what we do on roleplay blogs is almost like writing collaborative fanfiction -- i think that’s the simplest way to describe it. when you’re writing, you only write what your character does. the length of your post can be anywhere from a few lines to several paragraphs, depending on the situation you’re writing. you write everything pretty much the way you’d write a character in a normal work of fiction: you describe their actions, their thoughts, their dialogue, and so on. then, when there’s a natural point where another character would speak or act, you hand it off to your partner, who is writing their own character. this process of interactions is commonly referred to as a ‘thread.’

for example, let’s say that i’m writing a thread involving dr. jekyll having a conversation with mr. utterson. i have to think about what might happen in the scene. maybe i want to mention that dr. jekyll takes a sip of his wine before he speaks. maybe i want to describe a bit about the sitting room they’re in so my partner, writing mr. utterson, knows what to picture. maybe i want to mention what’s going on in dr. jekyll’s mind, if it’s a particularly tense conversation. then, of course, i need to mention what he says. then, after that, my reply is finished, as it’s now my partner’s turn to describe what mr. utterson does, thinks, and says in response. we go back and forth like that to build the scene.

that’s pretty much the basics of roleplaying! as far as setting up a blog itself, feel more than free to explore mine to see what people tend to put. a standard necessity is having an about page and a rules page. an about page is vital: even if your character is from a very famous piece of media, everyone puts their own spin on how they write that character, so your about page tells people the details they need to know. for example, dr. jekyll and mr. hyde is quite famous, but i choose to write dr. jekyll as scottish, whereas his nationality is never specified explicitly in the novella. someone else writing him might choose to write him as irish, english, american, etc. the about page tells my potential writing partners what they need to know about my character. that’s doubly important if your character is made up by you instead of from an existing piece of fiction -- people can’t google your mind! a rules page is pretty important, too, as it lets people know what you’re comfortable with. some people have very basic rules, others have longer ones. i, personally, have ended up adding to mine over time, as i realise what makes me uncomfortable and so on. if you want to start out with very basic rules and add to them as time goes on, that’s totally fine. you don’t have to have a huge list to start off with.

i hope that helps lay out the basics! again, if you want to message me with further questions about terminology, finding blog themes, setting up a roleplay blog, or anything else you can think of, don’t hesitate. i’m happy to help!

#( * ooc. )#too-many-lines

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chordue · 5 years

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The Shortened (and Sloppy) Version of My TSCDJMH Notes - Version 1/?

After my fiftieth read of the novella, ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’, I’ve decided to take notes on the characteristic and physical aspects of the two main boys, primarily for myself in writing and drawing, but also serving as notes that anyone can use if need be.

I apologize for how sloppy and rambly I tend to get with my notes, but again, this is the shortened version.

(Yes, ouch, I am that bad at taking proper notes.)

Dr. Henry Jekyll

•Nicknamed 'Harry' by Utterson.

-May also be called Harry by various long-time friends, at least when he still had some sort of relationship with them.

•Jekyll's titles were written as such in the story, "Henry Jekyll, M.D., D.C.L., L.L.D., F.R.S., etc.".

*M.D. = Medical Doctor

*D.C.L.= Doctor of Judicial Science

*L.L.D.= Legum Doctor

*F.R.S.= Fellowship of the Royal Society

-Basically, a title given to a person who has made substantial progress in the fields of mathematics, science, etc.

-This gives a bit of weight to Jekyll’s social appearance, as well as pertaining to the fact that he’s actually quite popular (may it be in certain circles or to the common folk as well).

*etc.

-This gives way to various other titles in which the reader can only assume- I personally headcanon a PhD in Chemistry, but to each their own.

•Poole has been Jekyll’s butler for a whopping twenty years. Within the novella, it explicitly states that he (Jekyll) is a ‘smooth-faced man of fifty’.

-I’ve concluded that, if you were to bend the canon or make an AU of some sort, Jekyll’s age could be anywhere between late thirties to his early sixties (at most- again, canon states him as fifty, so I typically wouldn’t breach that line unless I want to play out a much older Jekyll). If you’re headcanoning a younger Jekyll, it’s believable to place him at an age range between late thirties to early-mid fourties. If you want an older version of him, the oldest I would go would be anywhere within his sixties.

-According to the casting requirements for the Jekyll & Hyde musical, Jekyll’s actor is 30-40 years of age. Do with that what you will.

*Also, if you’re just making a full out AU, go ham with the age, who cares about canon (because if I’ve gotten to the point where I have to take notes on canon, then I certainly haven’t pertained to the laws of said canon in forever).

•Described as a ‘large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness’.

- Henry Jekyll is, without a doubt, a kind man- that doesn’t necessarily mean he has skewed morals, though. I’ve already written a handful of essays of where Jekyll stops and Hyde begins, whether or not Hyde even exists, whether or not Jekyll even exists, blah blah blah. The whole interpretation of Jekyll’s character, excluding the few details given, is entirely up to the reader, and how exactly they perceive the line between Jekyll and Hyde is also very much a thing.

-I’ve, personally, always imagined Jekyll to me a lanky, youngish looking man. To further my imagination, ‘The League of Extraordinry Gentlemen’ sort of beat that interpretation of Jekyll into my head and so my imagined version of him is a bit skewed.

•HEIGHT! Oh Lord, this man’s height. Tall way back in the day (in the 1800’s, in England) wasn’t really that tall compared to now. My height range for Jekyll would be 5’6”-5’8”, though the 5’8” is sort of pushing it.

•Jekyll is actually pronounced Gee-Kill, and now I want to Jekyll myself.

-hah I’m still going to pronounce it as I’ve always have because bad habits die hard, but mine won’t be dying at all

Mr. Edward Hyde

Described as ‘dwarfish’ multiple times. Probably tragically small due to the height waaaay back in the day.

- I think I put him at anywhere between ‘4”8- ‘5”4, but that’s probably being a bit generous.

*Multiple adaptations have pictured Hyde as an enormous, towering figure that looks heavily deformed. I note that, while some characters within the short story did describe him as ‘deformed’, they meant that in a ‘metaphorical’ way. The thing with Hyde was that he looked normal, if a bit short, and that it was the way he ‘felt’ that set others off. He was twisted in the good old classic soul-sense, being Jekyll’s incarnation of evil and all.

-It is certainly valid to picture Hyde as enormous, but I tend to only write (or draw) Hyde larger when I’m trying to imply the growth of Jekyll’s ‘evilness’. The more twisted Jekyll becomes, even if it doesn’t outwardly affect his character, the larger (and perhaps more deformed) Hyde becomes.

•Hyde, based off of Poole’s description, is a man pertaining a sense of ‘bigness’- this may allude to the fact that Jekyll’s evil is crammed within a small form (which sort of debunks what I’ve stated previously), or the fact that Hyde is just... ‘well-upholstered’.

-It certainly makes sense, given that Sloth doesn’t necessarily seem like something the Good Doctor wouldn’t oblige himself with, but rather something Hyde would do.

____

Please do keep in mind that I’m probably going to edit this about a million times, because my small brain misses entire words when reading, and I didn’t really take that many notes (it’s basically just a handful or cited notes with my rambling attached to them, sorry again).

#the strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde #henry jekyll #edward hyde #gabriel utterson #mr. hyde #dr. jekyll #bad notes taken by a dumb person

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teriiiwrites · 4 years

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2019 Writing Wrap-Up

I typically do this on my main rather than here because I always forget this exists, but not this year!

Another year where I didn’t end up sharing a single thing I wrote in its entirety so I’m sticking with my trend there lmao. Good to know that some things never change. But I have taken the first steps towards that - namely, starting this blog to give myself a place to talk more about writing.

Now, onto the stats!

Total for 2019: 104,374 words!

I actually wasn’t expecting to even near the 100K mark this year, so the fact that I passed it was a pleasant surprise. It’s significantly less than I hit in 2018 (over 170K), but I’m still very proud of what I accomplished throughout the year.

My focus over 2019 was based a little less in silly concept story ideas (which I still love dearly and want to do more of this next year) but I tried to focus a little more in diversity. In the types of stories, the characters in them, and how they were written. I did my best to push my boundaries with it, which often led to taking longer with my writing and probably is one of the reasons the word count of the year wasn’t as high as last year. But I felt it was important for me, and I’m glad that I worked on what I did.

The longest piece I wrote was my WIP NaNo novel, Castle on the Hill, which hit 57,037 words. I’m hoping to work a little more on it in 2020 and maybe finish up a first draft over the summer, when I have a little more time.

With that, here are some of the highlights:

“They say the British are starting to listen to our people there! That they might consider changing some of the voting laws!” He preaches with the pride of a man who has always believed in the good of the British, but it is confusing to hear him speak like this.

Wasn’t it only months ago when his father spoke of the evils of the British invaders? Of the unforgivable things they’d done? How is it that, now, he draws his own family closer to the center of their spiderweb?

(A Wanderer on a Scorched Path)

That night in the motel had turned into a week, which turned into a month, and so on until all Laine’s memories of her early childhood involved Do Not Disturb signs and vending machine dinners.

(A Walk Down Memory Laine)

In hearing of her success, the townsfolk quietly cheered for her, disregarding their previous contempt for the malicious girl who’d tormented them. She was all at once one of theirs. Hadn’t they laughed with her, waved at her, made faces at the small girl who had seemed so unlike her family? And perhaps all of their attempts at kindness were being paid off. Finally, here was a Grey who would break the curse of her cruel family and be a decent sort.

(The Grey Manor)

A familiar coach split the crowd, curtains drawn over the windows. It was almost easy to believe that the Greys were inside, eager – if Greys could be eager – about reuniting with their youngest. But there was only one Lady Grey left.

(The Grey Manor)

It was during one of these heavy snowstorms that the Visitor arrived in town. None could claim to know where she came from, and fewer still knew her name. Even the details of her appearance never quite matched up – some said she was an old woman, with hair like straw and wearing rags better fit for carrying potatoes than being worn. Other claimed she was no older than thirty, that the apparent age was only due to her gravelly voice and wild, fair hair. They said that though her clothes were faded and tattered and too large on her tiny frame, one could still see the frayed ruffles and faint design of what once must have been a fine gown.

(The Grey Manor)

Years had passed since the doctor’s apprentice had last been to the Grey Manor. He’d been one of many who had taken a thrill at the abandoned house while Lady Grey had been away. He now considered himself above such superstitions. Yet the effect of the snow-covered cemetery and the sprawling, leafless ivy across the outer walls could not be blamed wholly on the overcast sky.

(The Grey Manor)

The doctor’s apprentice made his way deeper into the house, but the Grey Manor felt more fit for ghosts than the living.

(The Grey Manor)

“Good afternoon, Clara!” I greeted as I waved for her to take a seat before my desk.

“Doctor,” she responded in kind. She pulled back the chair and fell into it in one fluid motion. “Things are on the up-and-up!”

As much as I appreciated her enthusiasm, having supervillain clients typically meant having to gently discourage their flavor of ‘on the up-and-up’.

(The Desk of Dr. Isselhardt)

“I think I’ll start off with a vacation. I was initially thinking of revisiting the city I grew up in, but finding a kennel for my hellhounds would be a nightmare, and I just know none of my friends would take them in.”

I had met Jekyll and Hyde once, when I’d bumped into Clara on my morning jog in the park, and I couldn’t blame them.

(The Desk of Dr. Isselhardt)

The angelic child screamed like a demon, yet Camila adored her more than she’d known she was able.

(Quinta and Her Cat)

Amara leaned back against the door, staring at the ceiling. “Your Guardians don’t seem as sympathetic as you make them out to be.”

Deirdre kicked out her foot, but only caught the edge of some piping. “They have to choose their battles. They’re strong, but not so strong as to fight all of them.”

“Legal skirmishes between the elite is apparently a higher priority than the oppression of thousands,” was Amara’s reply.

Deirdre didn’t respond; she had nothing more to say.

(The Great Guardians)

One of the aliens is moving quickly towards me, and I realize my impression that they are humanoid was a little premature. Though its head, neck, and torso are vaguely like mine, the bottom half of their bodies are more like a spider. A gray, spider centaur. With no face.

A small part of my brain asks why I'm not terrified. I have no answer for it.

(Alien Abduction)

Sir Michel had been in Eastcairn Keep only once before, but the imposing walls of stone were as familiar as if he had grown up here. The halls were cold and impersonal, as though acknowledging that they'd been around long before Sir Michel had arrived and they would stand the same long after he was gone.

(Foul Play)

"I have a sister." Andromeda's voice was soft, but it carried as though all of the forest had quieted to listen. "The kingdom is in no great danger of losing an heir."

Sir Michel chuckled at her naivety. "Princess, if you believe that your father will allow for this - "

"Then let him come to tell me himself."

Never before had Sir Michel been interrupted by a woman. His laughter caught in his throat, and, for a moment, he was too stunned by Andromeda's audacity to respond.

(Foul Play)

"The King is busy running a country, as one day your future husband shall."

"And I suppose you think that by carrying me back to the Keep, you'll be given the position?" Andromeda asked bitterly. She brushed a loose braid behind her shoulder. "You, a man with nothing but a meager title, sitting on the throne? No one with sense could expect such a fate for you, yet here you are."

"Yet here I am," was the knight's weak response. He couldn't understand how it was that he spoke far louder than the princess, and yet his words didn't seem to carry half as well or ring half as true.

(Foul Play)

"One of your men killed Tihomil, but not you. The trial is not fair."

"We don't fight fair when it comes to your life."

(Foul Play)

Andromeda pushed herself away, pulling her dagger with her. When she lifted a part of her skirt, Sir Michel saw that it was strapped to her leg, a place no honorable man would've thought to check. When she bent down again, her face was no more than a foot from the knight's.

"I don't fight fair when it comes to my life," Andromeda hissed. She wiped the blood staining her hands onto Sir Michel's breastplate, trailing red across its center.

(Foul Play)

As his vision began to tunnel, Sir Michel the Righteous' last sight was that of the princess stealing off into the night, her movements as feral and graceful as something too wild to be contained in the Keep.

(Foul Play)

Josef Weber was a quiet and privileged man, and the two together gave him the appearance of being far prouder than he actually was. This view was encouraged by the fact that he surrounded himself with few friends, and that those he kept were similar in stature and wealth to himself.

(Castle on the Hill)

The night sky was illuminated by fireworks, casting a scarlet glow over the small, German city of Heidelberg. Its castle stood imposingly atop a hill, awash in the red, mimicking fires that had taken the structure from what it had once been to the ruins that now overlooked Old Downtown. Crowds of thousands had flooded the streets, watching the annual celebration in awe as the fireworks reflected in the Neckar River below.

(Castle on the Hill)

“Shouldn’t you be running back to Hulmarra? I thought you were loyal to your lady.”

Theren’s laugh was abrupt and loud, but when he stopped, his voice was coldly stern. “We’re loyal to two things. Gold and discretion. It just so happens Lady Iltazyara is well equipped with both.”

Verna smirked. “Only those two things? If I paid you to kill your sister, would you do it?”

“That price would cost far more than you have,” Theren said with a condescending smile.

“You’d be surprised how much I have at my disposal,” Verna taunted.

“Then we can talk later.” Theren winked in her direction and grinned broadly at the impatient look on Rowan’s face.

(The Virtuous Seven)

#writing #2019 writing wrap-up #2019 #writeblr

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honeybutterchipsss-blog · 6 years

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Comparison of Zhou Qiluo with Mystic Messenger’s Game Character

This article is done in duplicate, full Chinese version post on Zhihu, website link:https://www.zhihu.com/question/289838807/answer/469228844; full English version post on Tumblr and Twitter, with this Tumblr and Twitter account @mysmelover.

All the pictures are from Internet. The main body is free to reprint. The original author is not responsible for any misunderstanding caused by other language translation.

In case of serious spoilers, please read carefully.

First emphasize, in the article posted by Love and Producer's official weibo account on 0:16 10th, Aug 2018, the first draft of Zhou Qiluo was made by 2014 can not explain the similarity of Zhou Qiluo's image in the new PV release on 1st, Aug 2018 with the game characters of Mystic Messenger launched two years ago.

The progress of game character design is a long progress, and a completed design takes time to be enrich and perfect. We believe, the developed team of both game has made a such deal to Love and Producer and Mystic Messenger. But the great effort does not mean we can just use coincidence to explain the similarity of the game character in them.

Mystic Messenger (hereafter referred to MM) began developing at 2015, launched at both Android and IOS at Aug 2016. When the game launched, the whole character design of 7 game character, player character Main Character (hereafter referred to MC) and the important character Rika has completed. The causal story and deep story is around 5 of them, although at that time, Unknown does not have his own story, but he plays a lot in game's bad ending. Although Cheritz launched V route on Sep 2017 and Ray Route (Ray is Unknown) on 31st, Jan 2018, but: first, this two route is completely independent to the main story, the time, background and story is different; second, before this two route launched, they both had attended the DLC of Christmas, 2016. This all showing that the design of Unknown had also begun at 2015, not 2018.

Love and Producer (hereafter referred to LP) released the internal test at the summer of 2017, and officially launched at Dec 2017. After its launch, the story has updated twice, now goes to Chapter 18 (not end). Here we mainly compare the similarity of Zhou Qiluo and game characters in MM, especially the similarity of Zhou Qiluo's image in new PV with them.

I. The Comparison of Similar Concepts in Two Games' Character

1. Chip

"Chip" is a very important concept of Zhou Qiluo and 707. In LP, Zhou Qiluo met heroine (hereafter referred to Youran) because of a bag of chips in convenience store, then he directly calls Youran as 'miss chip'. 707 has showed his love to Honey Buddha Chip. Many Love and Producer players (hereafter referred to LPers) said, Zhou Qiluo does not love to eat chips, but snacks. However, we can see "chip" is a highlight concepts of LP's early story and advertising.

For example, in LP's Spring Festival advertisement (has been pulled down because of the controversy), chip is a key concept.

In addition, chip is an important concept of two game's marketing. Although the LP has not officially announced the business cooperation relationship with any chip manufacture. In the event of Zhou Qiluo's birthday, many LPers bought chips to celebrate. This matter actually reached the certain marketing purpose, showing "chip" is a key marketing concepts of LP.

Not only LPers, Paper Game (LP's game development company) used "chip" as Zhou Qiluo's keywords. In this year's Chinajoy, they put a bag of chips in Zhou Qiluo's room. They constantly use the "chips", proved the deep connection between the character and the chips.

Coincidentally, Honey Buddha Chip (hereafter referred to HBC) is a frequently element in MM and also an ad of Cheriz. The manufacture of Honey Buddha Chip called HAITAI is one of a sponsor of MM. Therefore, in the game, chips are shown with real logo and looks. This advertisement intuitively affected the sales of HBC. Players bring a lot purchasing.

Actually, LP and MM are not the only games used concept "chips" to design the character, also the real-life's marketing promotion used a quite similar concept. In addition, the Korean version of LP has translated the "chip" into "Honey Chip”.

2. Superhero and Space

Firstly, in many artworks, superhero equals the defender of justice. We consider it as the same concept here.

For superhero, Zhou Qiluo has called himself as the superhero and will take mission to the space. Some LPers said Zhou Qiluo call himself as the superhero because Youran has called him like this. For a same "idea", different games may have different ways to describe. Here we just talk about the similar of concepts, not the story related.

Also 707 has called himself a 'Defender of Justice', and always says he wants to travel to the space, even a wedding at the space station. MM has a spaceship under their game to interface. For the MMers, space is a very romantic point to 707. Many fans have created artworks buy using "space". Therefore, "space" has played an important role of 707.

3. Multiple Personality

For the concept of multiple personality, this two games describe it with two ways.

Performing a multiple personality role

In LP, Zhou Qiluo's surface identity is an idol, he sometimes gets acting job; and in MM, there is a musical actor ZEN. In the new chapter of LP, the upper news (only can be seen in iphoneX) shows Zhou Qiluo will perform a role of triple personality.

Being a musical actor, ZEN has performed many musicals in MM story, and there is a musical about multiple personality originally named Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (the game change few letters of the name). The purpose making ZEN perform this musical not only suit his job, but also imply of Unknown, who is triple personality.

The character is/ may be multiple personality

Zhou Qiluo's disposition has changed a lot in the new chapter with no clear reason. Without the story says he has suffered a lot or experienced some kind of shock, we consider he may be multiple personality.

In MM there is an actual triple personality character Unknown.

4. Duel Identity and Hacker

At the later story in two game, Zhou Qiluo and 707 both have duel identity, and both of them take hacker as their hidden identity. In MM, 707 run away from his parents, and with V's help he studied and become a hacker; In LP, Zhou Qiluo lived in Heaven Welfare Home belongs to Black Swan, and directly taught by key and take over this identity after the former key vanished.

In LP's story, evol is a unique concept. Every game character has different superpower named evol, according to this unique setting, we can describe Zhou Qiluo as: A genius hacker with a superpower.

But 'A genius hacker with a superpower' has appeared in 707's call in MM:

Although superpower is not a very key concept in MM, and 707 dose not actual have superpower, but same way to say it makes people think.

5. Zhou Qiluo's new image in PV is similar with Unknown in MM

Tattoo

In the new PV release in 1st, Aug 2018, Zhou Qiluo has a black tattoo from his right shoulder to arm, Unknown has a same black tattoo, in same arm, in same place. Although their tattoo is different in pattern and meaning, it looks too much familiar at the first sight.

Game CG

Zhou Qiluo's game CG is very similar with one of Unknown's CG, similar posture, similar perspective angle. We zoom the head part and put these two CG together show the line of nose, ear, chin can overlap.

vimeo

Change of the color of hair and eyes

In new PV, Zhou Qiluo changes his hair into white, eyes' color from gold to blue; in MM's story, Unknown's red hair fading after drinking elixir to white and his golden eyes changes to blue.

Change of disposition

In new PV, Zhou Qiluo changes to a cold person from an idolish character; after the brainwashing, Unknown turns into an angry and intense from a soft and introverted. Although their disposition is different both before and after, they both have a enormous change of it.

Outfit

Their outfit also looks similar, black choker, wearing vest or so.

6. Heaven Welfare Home and Mint Eye

In LP', Zhou Qiluo lived in Heaven Welfare Home when he was young, an anonymous man describes it as 'there will happy like in heaven'; in MM, Unknown always say Mint Eye is a heaven can help people and bring happiness.

Heaven Welfare Home is a welfare home which choose little children to grow their superpower, and order to get an ace, they will inject medicine every week. In MM, as the heresy set up by Rika, Mint Eye is aiming on make people happy. Rika thinks only she can heal people, so there is also a regular ceremony in Mint Eye, makes its believer drink a medicine named elixir. This medicine would cause adverse reaction of body, like unclear mind, drinking in long-term even makes people being brain washed. After being adopted Unknown was forced by Rika to drink elixir, causes he being brainwashed, his hair color faded and totally changed into another person, even came out triple personality.

7. The descriptions above are all obvious similar concepts in the two games, and we will list some detailed similarities only slightly analyzed as following:

In the chapter 8 of LP, Youran comes to a party organized by hackers because of a mail. While in MM, MC invites guests coming to the party by mails and other characters also receives mails from Mint Eye in which Unknown stays. Moreover, the final party has always been Mint Eye's goal.

In LP, Youran received a mail from an “Unknown”. And MM’s story begins because MC received messages from Unknown (in prologue chatroom).

In the chapter 8 of LP, Youran has reach a bomb attract in the party, key (Zhou Qiluo) protect her. In the MM story of 707, there is a bomb in MC's apartment, 707 come to the apartment protect her. This bomb also shows in other character's story.

Zhou Qiluo and 707 loving to wear a headset. In Zhou Qiluo’s character design and card there is usually a headset around his neck, same gesture as 707 (just look similar).

II. About Cheritz had Copied Other Game

When Cheritz set up at 2016, it was just a small game company, so as the first game of this company, Dandelion -Wishes brought to you- had given its game character design to an outsourcing company. So to the incident Dandelionis similar with other game named Lamentoin game character's appearance we think, Cheritz just take limited responsibility for it. It is not a very rare situation when outsourcing company causes problem to the game, even Paper Game itself had experienced the same situation. We think, it is not fair to define Cheritz had copied other game just by the mistakes caused by outsourcing company.

Furthermore, if LPers assume Cheritz had copied just because Dandelionis similar with other game named Lamento in game character's appearance, the comparison we mentioned above can not just called coincidences.

III. Respond to some LPers' Query

1. Clarification of two game's designing timeline

LP's official weibo had post an article showed the very first design of four male game character and Youran of this game, the first draft picture of Zhou Qiluo was made by 17th, Oct 2014. And the whole design progress is secret until they released the internal test at the summer of 2017.

According Cheritz's official Tumblr, the first article mentioned about MM was written by 20th, May 2015. In addition, Cheritz has post a team diary on their Tumblr to show the design progress of MM, also made a brochure of design in the VIP package of MM.

On the other side, if LP's team are prior informed about MM, even LP officially said the progress of design has begun at 2014, but the whole progress is undisclosed until 2017, so they had a lot of time to adjust their design then avoid having similar with a game launched way before it. Even LP has launched at the end of 2017, its story is not complete until now, they should have pretty enough time to change their design.

Besides, on the game forum TapTap, LP's developer writes the game cost two year to develop, but in the article post days ago they said they begun develop since 2014, so which one is true?

2. Clarification of 'The traditional Chinese translated name of MM has copied LP'

The traditional Chinese version MM is in charged by a Taiwan prestigious publisher called SNSplus, this company runs all the localization and publishing of MM for official service in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. May because the publisher knowing about LP is popular in mainland China, so they take a temporary name similar of LP (just similar with two former Chinese characters, with the first Chinese character same), but since Cheritz always connect MMers with English and Korean, we doubt they are fully aware of this.

When this temporary name had announced on twitter, many Chinese MMers was worried about the name may cause misunderstanding since LP is very popular at that time. So they sent comments under this announcement asking for change the temporary name. Days later, Cheritz took the advice and change the traditional Chinese translated name of MM.

Using this temporary name to compare with LP's Chinese name can not conclude Cheritz of MM is coping LP.

3. Clarification of 'Chinese MMers better loving foreign games than homebred game'

For many MMers insist that LP and MM do have many similar, some LPers criticize that MMers are kind of worship things foreign (in a badly way). What is more, when we try to explain the issue of the traditional Chinese translated name of MM, they think we put Taiwan aside talking about this problem, it’s actually support Taiwan independence, taking the whole issue to political level.

The reason why we have separate the traditional Chinese version MM to the mainland China is because by the rule of app store, the store of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan stands alone from the store of mainland China. So this is a policy problem, not a political problem.

Many people would play games developed by foreigners, and many foreigners play games made by Chinese team, this is a process of cultural exchange, you should not be proud of just by playing games from any country. The standard of judging a game is not by its country, is by game-play and how careful planning by the designer.

In the very first questionnaire of LP before its launched, they have clearly asked whether you have played MM, therefore the develop team of LP is definitely knowing it. In our opinion, if LP’s development team had found the game itself has a lot similar concepts with MM, even the game was completely designed at that time, the team should change its design to avoid similar, but not launch after MM around two years late. This is the right way to respect all the players loving Love and Producer, loving Zhou Qiluo, and the only way to create their most unique 'dearest one'.

#mysticmessenger #mystic messenger #love and producer #수상한메신저 #神秘信使 #戀與製作人 #러브앤프로듀서 #loveandproducer

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theraistlinmajere · 6 years

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THE “”GOTHIC”” REC LIST

Edited for my own use.

LET’S START WITH THE GATEWAY DRUG BOOK

1. Flowers in the Attic (VC Andrews): Published in 1979 and technically considered contemporary Gothic. The style closely resembles a lot of “original” Gothic fiction I’ve read, but the themes, story arc and style are distinctly contemporary and very psychological. Gets a bad rap because it’s over the top insane and averagely written (which most Gothic is, tbh). Flowers is light reading, and I think it’s a good gateway drug into heavier Gothic. Has several sequels but stands alone as well. I wish I could call this Victorian-inspired Gothic but honestly it’s just knockoff Victorian in a contemporary setting. If you don’t enjoy this book, it probably means you don’t like the over the top insanity and average writing. Skip it if you like!

1.5. But if you do like it, I hear My Sweet Audrina is pretty good. All of VC Andrews and her ghostwriters are like a hellhole people sometimes don’t escape tbh it’s a raging aesthetic disaster down there.

Note: I have a strong suspicion that “contemporary” Gothic published between 1965 and 1989 will eventually have its own movement name; you will see a decent amount of it on this list.

THE VICTORIAN GOTHIC PART OF THE LIST Most of these are available for free online due to copyright law being born late or whatever. 2. Carmilla (Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu): Considered the first English vampire story (Germans invented the European vampire allegedly), and published in 187…9? 1871? Something like that. A novella. Arguably a same-sex romance (VERY arguably), but can also be read as a close friendship. The writing is good, but not the absolute greatest I’ve ever read. The real strong point here is the imagery and the dawn of the English vampire. Great Halloween read; I read it almost every autumn. 3. “The Trifecta,” according to Gothic fans: Dracula (Bram Stoker), Frankenstein (Shelley), and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Swift & Stevenson): First mainstream vampire, original English monster movie fuel, and the dawn of psychological fiction. Shelley’s the best writer out of all of them but she’s a Romantic and I’m sort of biased against Romantics. She’s a precursor to true Victorian Gothic. Dracula is still one of the creepiest books I’ve ever read and it’s the only one in the trifecta I really really love (and finished).

Note: If, by any chance, you find yourself seriously obsessed with vampires at any point in time, please consult me for an extended list of vampire fiction because I have a shit-ton of it in my reading history and left most of it out so vampires wouldn’t clutter this list lmao.

4. Edgar Allan Poe, Completed Works. The Cask of Amontillado, The Masque of the Red Death, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Tell-Tale Heart are all notable. His poetry is lovely–Annabelle Lee and The Raven are most culturally significant. Just solid and wonderful work that I like a lot but haven’t explored in a lot of detail. Will appeal to your interest in darkness imagery.

5. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories (Washington Irving): QUINTESSENTIAL HALLOWEEN READING. SPOOPY. WONDERFUL. I truly love this anthology. Will also appeal to your interest in darkness as a concept and a physical thing. 6. Nightmare Abbey (Thomas Love Peacock): an 1818 novel that makes fun of the Victorian Gothic movement. Hilarious, contains all the typical Victorian Gothic tropes and has the added benefit of actually falling into the Victorian Gothic movement ironically. Usually comes packaged with another novel called Crotchet Castle which is similar. 7. If, somehow, you haven’t had it with Victorian Gothic yet (and I got to this point, it happens, Victorian Gothic is a slippery slope)… Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (Susanna Clarke): A really bizarre story behind how this was published, at least it is to me. Published in 2004, Over 10 years in the making and is written in the Victorian Gothic style but with a quirky and modern twist. The writer takes a page out of contemporary social commentary and includes pages-long footnotes, heads up (they’re funny and entertaining though). HUGE. You could kill a man with this volume. Excellent writing; I’m halfway through. I hear there’s time travel (?) and there are about ten thousand characters. Neil Gaiman is a fan. 8. The Phantom of the Opera (Gaston Leroux) is not technically Victorian (Technically Edwardian? Also French; I’m not familiar with French literary eras) but of course it has a huge following. I’ve read a little so far; I like the style and I think it’s culturally significant. You might want to read this because it’s heavily inspired by a French opera house, the Palais Garnier in Paris. Amber tells me she read literature in French to help sharpen her skills in the language; you may consider picking up an un-translated version of this? A BRIEF INTERLUDE FOR MORE CONTEMPORARY 9. Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice): One of my favorite books of all time! Possibly the dawn of the romanticized vampire. Falls into that 70s contemporary Gothic bracket and is pretty amazingly written, but markedly more angst-ridden than anything else on the list (save for maybe Flowers). Lots of “what is evil?” and “what does immortality imply?” type speculation. Also gets a bad rap because Anne Rice made it big and haters are rife tbh it’s a very solidly built book in my opinion (BUT SUPER EMOTIONAL VAMPIRES). If you like this, continue with The Vampire Chronicles (The Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damned, Prince Lestat, and about 8 others in between that concern minor characters). Lestat is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. 10. Coraline (Neil Gaiman): Quick, cute, I found myself actually afraid for a little while despite the audience being middle grade readers?? I enjoyed it. The only Neil Gaiman on the list because his other work doesn’t impress me very much. 11. The Spiderwick Chronicles (Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi): More middle-grade creepy aesthetic stuff. Cute modern fantasy stories, five volumes. I can read these books at twenty years old and still enjoy them (like Coraline)! The only good thing Holly Black has ever produced, in my opinion, though many people like her and her ~aesthetic.

11.5. Should you find yourself in the mood for more quick middle-grade aesthetic-y stuff, Pure Dead Magic (Debi Gliori) is really an adorable book with two sequels. Victorian Gothic tropes such as the creepy mansion, creatures in the dungeon, family drama, and Weird Newcomers are all present, but it’s set in modern times. One of the main characters is a hacker. Addams family-esque.

THE SURREAL-ISH FICTION PART OF THE LIST

Not true surreal fiction; these are contemporary surreal-inspired works. 12. The Bloody Chamber (Angela Carter): An anthology of short stories which retell fairy tales. Falls into the contemporary surrealism movement and is not traditionally considered Gothic, but this is definitely your aesthetic. Very quick read, very vivid imagery, lots of second-wave feminism and some brief eating disorder symbolism. Carter was a phenomenal writer! My favorite story is “The Lady of the House of Love"

12.5 (Just as a reminder since I’ve mentioned these) See also: Nights at the Circus (Carter) and Mechanique: A tale of the Circus Tresaulti (Valentine) for your interest in circus books!

13. The Palace of Curiosities (Rosie Garland), which I also rec’d before. Similar style to Chamber, similar themes. Both beautiful books. 14. Deathless (Catherynne Valente): Oh, Deathless. Technically contemporary lit, but hails to Russian Gothic (one of the earlier Gothic movements which I haven’t read much of). Retelling of about a million Russian folk tales. I could go on about this book for a thousand years. Stylistically similar to The Bloody Chamber as well, but far more poetic. (Very) structurally inferior to every other book on this list, but so heart-wrenchingly romantic you won’t notice or care on the first read. Visually breathtaking, absolutely the closest thing to death and the maiden imagery I’ve found in fiction. I’m fairly confident you’ll appreciate this one! Might as well read it to test my theory!! There’s controversy surrounding the fact that the writer is not Russian–something to be aware of. 15. The Enchanted (Rene Denfeld): TREAD WITH CAUTION. This is contemporary literary fiction (not Gothic) written from the pov of a death row inmate. Nominated for approximately a billion awards in 2014 (and won a few); high caliber of writing. Incredibly visceral, horrific, psychological imagery that was too much for me, though I still liked it. Short but dense–I had to take a two-day break to ward off the anxiety it caused. But you are darker~ than I so you might like it more!

THE SOUTHERN GOTHIC PART OF THE LIST 16. Beloved (Toni Morrison): Contemporary Southern Gothic. Incredibly creepy imagery, explores the connection between women’s issues and racial issues. Uses abortion and slavery as metaphors for each other. Gracefully written, but Southern Gothic (even contemporary) tends to be textually dense so it’s something to really think about as you read. 17. As I Lay Dying (Faulkner): “True” Southern Gothic. DENSE AS HELL but I think Beloved is a good precursor to Faulkner. A lot of almost comedic family drama, similar to Flowers in that sense, but very srs bsns nonetheless.

17.5. Basically all of Faulkner is considered Southern Gothic. He’s the father of Southern Gothic. If you enjoy this, you might also like Absalom! Absalom! and other such works. I loved As I Lay Dying but it’s possibly his easiest read, and while I love a good challenge I haven’t stepped up to this one yet.

Note: I use reading guides for all my classical works and Shakespeare, and I think there are good ones for Faulkner too, so that might be something to look into if you wanna vanish into this hell lol.

AN ADDENDUM: OTHER WRITERS

HP Lovecraft: Father of horror or whatever. Awful writer–anyone will agree. The guy had no command of language, but he’s known for over-the-top horror imagery that people really enjoy. Honestly I hate his writing so I haven’t bothered with much of it.

Oscar Wilde: If, by this point, you still want more Victorian-era writing, Wilde is here for you. Lots of social commentary, wrote basically one piece in the Gothic style (Chapter 16 of The Picture of Dorian Gray, my favorite novel), snarky as hell, incredibly gifted writer.

Neil Gaiman: Modern surreal in my opinion, sometimes called modern Gothic, well-loved and writes creepy things. I think he’s average because I’ve read too much Murakami (who does “modern surreal” way, way better) but many people really love him.

THE BLACKLIST Knockoff Gothic/Gothic themed things to avoid. I apologize if you like any of these okay ._.

The Grisha Trilogy (Leigh Bardugo): Contemporary YA, tries to be Russian Gothic and fails. Stick to Deathless. This book makes a mockery of Russian culture whereas at least Valente exhaustively researched her novel. Also doesn’t do romance very well.

The Night Circus (Morgenstern): What the hell is this book, tbh. 400 pages of obtuse and cliched imagery which you don’t have time for in your life. No plot. Two-dimensional characters, bad writing.

Those Across The River (Christopher Buehlman): Terrible. Just terrible.

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jarienn972 · 6 years

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Only a Little Superstitious - Chapter 15

I'm going to preface this chapter with the revelation that it came together as the result of a very stressful couple of weeks for me. So, that said, this one is going to be heavy on the angst - with just a couple of major developments playing out both in Phoenix as well as back home in Storybrooke. I promise, there is going to be a happy ending, but there's still a bumpy road ahead for both Emma and Killian.. @killian-whump, I’d forgotten to tag you on the last couple of chapters, but I didn’t want you to miss out on some juicy angst.

AO3 FF.net

From the beginning on Tumblr: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Evening was quickly descending on Storybrooke as Regina yanked open the heavy front door of the town library, here thanks to an urgent message from Belle stating she'd discovered something very important. Regina didn't see the brunette librarian anywhere as she entered but she could hear a couple of muffled voices off in the distance.

"Belle?" Regina called out, having recognized Belle's voice as well as a male one – David. "You've got news?"

"Regina!" Belle's voice shouted back from further back in the dusty, musty building. "We're back here – in the computer room."

"We?" Regina asked. She had only made out two voices so she wondered who else might be present.

"David and I," Belle replied as Regina came around the corner into the library's make-shift computer room which also housed most of the reference section. David, clad in a blue plaid flannel shirt and jeans, was leaning against the wall across from Belle. "I figured he should be here as acting Sheriff so he could hear this as well…"

"Must relate to Emma and Hook then," Regina said in what came across as a perpetually annoyed tone.

"Sort of…," was Belle's cryptic response as she took a couple of steps over to a huge, solid oak library table stacked with piles of leather-bound first editions and reference materials. Belle pushed one of the stacks to the side and produced a fistful of papers. "Actually, it has more to do with Yzma's partner, Kronk…"

"Kronk? The guy who stabbed Hook then followed my daughter and son-in-law through the portal to Arizona?" David queried.

"That Kronk," Belle confirmed, plucking the first page from her pile of papers, one that looked like a poor quality photocopy. "I've been doing some research into both of our recent troublemakers, both Yzma and Kronk."

"Okay…" Regina hadn't expected the the petite librarian to continue looking into the pair once they'd been identified, but maybe this was a good thing.

"Well, we know that they arrived here with Mr. Hyde and his cronies from the Land of Untold Stories," David stated, curious as to what else Belle might have uncovered.

"Yes, they did come from the Land of Untold Stories," Belle verified. "I confirmed that through some of the journals found with both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde's belongings. Each seemed to be trying to keep records which partially identified the story book characters trapped in that realm. Thing was, neither of them made any mention of Nehemiah Kronk or what his story was. That got me very curious so I started to do a little digging and, with the help of some modern technology, I found something very interesting…"

"Are you going to kill us with suspense?" Regina deadpanned, eager to get home after a long day.

"Sorry, let me get to the point," Belle responded, voice dripping with sarcasm as she had no intention of being bullied by the mayor's insolence. "Nehemiah Kronk isn't a fairytale character at all…"

"What?!" both David and Regina chimed in unison.

"What do you mean he isn't a fairytale character?" Regina repeated Belle's revelation. "He has to be…"

"He's most certainly not," Belle replied very matter-of-factly as she passed the paper clutched in her hand to Regina. "Nehemiah Kronk is from this world, the Land Without Magic. Look…"

Regina perused the slightly blurry page before her which appeared to be a badly preserved copy of a very old newspaper article. "What exactly am I looking at? Old news?"

"That is a printout of an article I uncovered, published by the Arizona Republican newspaper in 1892…" Belle started to say as Regina handed the barely legible page to David.

"This says something about a missing US Marshal?" David asked as he glanced down at the page, confused as to what this had to do with Yzma's dangerous henchman. "I guess I'm missing something here…"

"Let me finish?" Belle asked, to which both David and Regina agreed, promising not to interrupt again. "That article talks about the mysterious disappearance of United States Marshal Nehemiah Kronk who vanished somewhere outside of the city Phoenix, then in the Arizona territories, while escorting a prisoner from Denver to Los Angeles. He and his partner turned their prisoner over to the California team, but when his partner checked in the next morning before they were to board the train back to Denver, Kronk was nowhere to be found. Witnesses reported he was last seen in a tavern talking to an old man. No one ever saw Kronk again and he was suspected of becoming a victim of one of several Apache attacks that week."

"Okay, but this is from the 1890s… How could someone from this world still be alive and unaged over a century later?" David wondered. "I'm sure the frozen time aspect of the Land of Untold Stories had something to do with it, but how did he get there if he isn't from a story? And how did he manage to hook up with Yzma?"

"I can't give you answers to those questions, but it's definitely the same guy…" Belle peeled the second page from her pile which contained a grainy, black and white photograph of the missing Marshal and while the hairstyle, attire and facial hair were different, David recognized the face of the man he'd fought alongside his son-in-law.

"Damn… that's him…" David sighed, unsure what this would mean for his daughter and her wounded husband.

"Well, at least we now have something that explains how they ended up in Arizona," Regina spoke up. "If Emma's right about the dagger being the object that opened the portal, not the scepter, Kronk may have had an impact on their destination."

"You think Kronk had a reason to go back to Arizona after all of these years?" David asked.

"Maybe. There are a lot of things we aren't going to be able to answer, but maybe this information would help Emma's friends track him down before he finds them?" Belle questioned. "Maybe we should call her?"

"She's still waiting for the dagger and potion to arrive," Regina said as she glanced down at her gold, diamond encrusted watch. "It won't get there for a few more hours but she's supposed to call when the package arrives and let us know if the potion works."

"Emma's got enough on her mind right now," David began. "Let's wait until we know the potion worked before we give her something else to worry about…"

"Agreed," Regina said. "Let's not bother her with a story about a century and a half year old former Federal Agent until the dark magic is dealt with. As for me, I'm heading home. If you happen to hear from your daughter sooner, let me know."

Sunsets in the Valley of the Sun were always spectacular and Carlos found his eyes immediately drawn to the blaze of color stretching across the Western sky as he exited his battered old pickup truck. The last few rays of sunlight could be seen reflecting off of the front windows of the nondescript office building in Scottsdale that he'd parked in front of, one which housed the National Parks Service field office. At nearly 6pm, only a few of his fellow government employees would still be here, most swapping their assigned Parks Service SUVs for their personal vehicles after a long day of patrolling the surrounding expanse of Federal lands.

He tapped his ID badge against the electronic security panel to the right of the entrance, tugging the door open when the panel buzzed and flashed a green light. Ana, their receptionist, glanced up from her desk as he entered, momentarily startling her as few people entered through the front door at this hour.

"Littlecreek? What are you doing at the office at this hour?" she asked, her dark eyes narrowing in confusion. "And isn't it your day off?"

"Hey, Ana," he greeted her with a friendly smile, hoping he could sell her on the basic story without going into a lot of detail. "Yeah, sorry for the confusion. I've got a package being delivered here from back East. It's pretty important so I didn't really want to risk having it dropped off at my place."

"Ooh, the mystery deepens, huh?" Ana teased him as he pulled one of the waiting area chairs away from the window and flopped down onto it. "Must be pretty important for you to show up here on your day off…"

"Yes, it is. Important enough to warrant private, same-day courier delivery. Good thing it's not on my tab. Figured I'd get over here early though in case the plane lands earlier than scheduled."

"Okay, well, you're on your own. I'm not sticking around while you wait," Ana stated as the clock on her desk now read six o'clock. "My day is over and I'm heading home. See you later, Littlecreek."

"Goodnight, Ana," he replied as she retrieved her purse from beneath her desk and scurried out the door. While he would have preferred the company, the less prying eyes, the better. He didn't want to have to go over the story of the package's contents more times than necessary.

He'd nearly drifted off from boredom when a loud knock sounded against the thick glass door forty-five minutes later. Carlos sprang to his feet and took a step towards the door, taking in the sight of a slight, blond haired man in his early to mid twenties dressed in a navy blue uniform and clutching a small box wrapped tightly in clear tape.

"Evening," the courier greeted Carlos from the opposite side of the thick glass door. "I've got a package here for a Mrs. Emma Jones, care of a Ranger Carlos Littlecreek?"

"And that would be me," Carlos replied. "One moment. Let me buzz you in…" Carlos found the button to his left and pressed it before pushing the door open for the courier to enter the office lobby.

"Thank you," the courier said as he took a few steps inside toward the reception desk. He rested the package on the desk while fumbling through his pocket with his free hand to find his tablet so he could collect Carlos' signature confirming the delivery. It was only as the package was placed atop the counter that Carlos noticed that one side was dented significantly. "I just need you to sign here but I'd also like you to take a look over the package and the contents and make sure they're intact in case you need to file a claim. We had a pretty bumpy flight and everything in the cargo hold got jostled around a lot. 'Found this package beneath a heavier one that got bounced on top of it and since the manifest stated it contained medicine, I was a little concerned…"

"Yeah, it contains some cough medicine for a colleague of mine. Desert air doesn't quite agree with her," Carlos chuckled as he hunted around Ana's desk for a pair of scissors so he could cut through the many layers of tape securing the box. Upon closer inspection, it appeared the courier had valid reason for his concern. He could see that beneath the tape, corners of the cardboard seemed to be damp with a reddish liquid and as he lifted it, the bottom was sticky against his palm. It was all adding up to be a little disconcerting. What if the potion bottles were damaged? There might not be time to wait for another batch… He cautiously cut through the tape securing the top flaps of the box and pulled them open to reveal layer after layer of bubble wrap lining the carton. He dug into it, easily finding the first prescription bottle and breathing a small sigh of relief upon discovering it was intact. They'd have one dose at least.

Unfortunately, as he discovered more of the sticky liquid clinging to the plastic, it became fairly evident that the second container hadn't been spared and as much as he hated it, he was right. He found the second bottle positioned against the dented side of the box sporting a large crack down the side. Grabbing what looked to be a clean coffee mug from Ana's desktop, he carefully extracted the second bottle, trying to preserve as much of the precious liquid inside as he could. He dropped the damaged container into the mug so it could catch any additional spillage, then slowly removed layer upon layer of bubble wrap, pouring what he could salvage into the mug.

"Damn…," the courier sighed. "I'm so sorry about that. We'll notify the sender so they can put in a damage claim if they want."

"Nothing you could do about the turbulence," Carlos assured the courier, not blaming him for this setback. At least one bottle had survived so they had one full dose and he was doing all he could to collect every drop he could rescue from the broken bottle. "Here, let me sign that so you can get out of here and I can get this stuff over to my colleague." The courier handed him the tablet and a rubber tipped stylus to sign and Carlos scrawled out his name as best he could with his now very sticky fingers. Once the transaction was all completed, he buzzed the courier out and tried to decide if he should call Emma now to warn her or just explain it all in person. Neither option was particularly pleasant at the moment.

Deciding it preferable to explain face to face, Carlos packaged the borrowed mug inside the box with the unblemished container and the still wrapped dagger then hurried out to his truck. He headed south toward Mesa, driving as quickly as he could without drawing too much unnecessary attention. Last thing he needed was to get pulled over for speeding and lengthen the delay the snarled traffic was already causing.

He finally arrived back at the hospital just after 7:30pm, box carefully tucked under his left arm. The unusual package had gotten a bit of scrutiny from security, but a casual mention of Tim Stillwater's name managed to get him through without too many questions. As he at last approached the room, it looked like Killian was asleep. Emma's back was to him but Grandmother spotted him lurking in the corridor and waved him inside.

"Why were you standing out there just staring?" Grandmother scolded him. "You could have just entered."

"I saw that Killian was sleeping and I didn't want to disturb him," Carlos replied in defense of his stalling.

"Right now, I don't care who you wake," Emma stated, standing up and hurriedly retrieving the box Carlos was carrying. "This package right here is the only thing I'm worried about right now."

"Well, the potion is definitely in there, as was the dagger," Carlos told her. "I wasn't even gonna try to bring that thing in here though so it's locked in my truck, but unfortunately, we may have a small problem…"

"Problem?" Emma's gaze shot up to meet Carlos', the earlier eagerness now tempered with a hint of trepidation. "What kind of problem?" She had already placed the cardboard box atop the rolling side table and was lifting the flaps to open it, not yet noticing that the corners were damp and discolored, but Grandmother's eagle eyes had spotted the stains.

Sharing a knowing glance with her grandson, the old woman was already asking "What happened?" even before Emma had the lid open, knowing not all of the potion had survived the journey from Storybrooke. Grandmother's intuitive suspicions were confirmed when Emma peeled back the sticky bubble wrap to discover the ceramic mug holding the cracked prescription bottle and the remnants that Carlos had managed to salvage.

"One of the bottles was broken?" Emma asked with a very audible sigh, lifting the mug carefully from the box so she wouldn't spill any more of its valuable contents. "It's all soaked through the box…"

"The courier said they hit some nasty turbulence and some other boxes fell on top of this one," Carlos explained. "I salvaged what I could from the broken one, even what I could manage to save from inside the layers of bubble wrap. 'Borrowed a friend's mug so I'd have something to catch it all. Looks like there's maybe a third of the original amount left…"

"The other bottle is intact?" Grandmother asked just wanting to be certain.

"Yes, it's fine," Emma responded as she withdrew the undamaged bottle from the package and placed it atop the table. Resting the mug beside the prescription container, she extracted the broken bottle and removed its lid, dumping the remaining contents into the mug. The thick, reddish-brown liquid certainly looked and even smelled like cough syrup. Regina had done well disguising it, but they had only a little more than a single dose. "Might as well have him drink all of it now," Emma decided, raising the second bottle to remove its cap and emptying it into the mug as well. Now all she had to do was get Killian to drink it.

"You're not worried it might be too much?" Carlos wondered, figuring there had to be a reason it was split into two separate doses. He didn't really expect Emma to answer as there definitely wasn't enough left to make a second dose that would likely have any effect, but he was still curious that too much could be equally as troubling as not enough.

"I don't see much of a choice," Emma replied as she gently nudged her husband's shoulder in an attempt to get him to stir. "Killian? If you can hear me, you need to wake up…" There was little response from her first effort so she had to try a bit harder this time, stroking his upper arm as she called out to him once again. "Killian – we've got the potion… You need to wake up so you can drink it…" This time, his head lolled toward the sound of her voice, followed by a faint, pained groan of displeasure. "That's it…" Emma continued to encourage him out of his drowsiness. "C'mon, talk to me…"

"'M tired, Swan…" Killian complained, eyes still closed tightly.

"I know," she apologized. Emma hated forcing him, but deep down, she knew it was for the best. "You've got to wake up and drink this to fight off that dark magic that has a hold on you." Killian's eyelids parted to slits, barely enough to make out the shape of his wife's face as she leaned over him. He took another moment to allow his sleepy eyes to adjust until he could discern a mug clutched in her right hand.

"Regina's potion?" Killian asked, his left eyebrow arching with suspicion.

"Yes," Emma smiled at him. "It's the potion we've been waiting for." She gently took a seat beside him on the narrow bed. "Let me help you sit up…" She found the controls for the adjustable bed and pressed the button to raise his head, slipping her left hand behind his shoulder to help ease him forward until he was seated upright, nearly eye level with her. He immediately grimaced and nearly tumbled back against the pillows as a twinge of pain shot through his chest. "Ooh, sorry… Shouldn't have done that so fast…"

"Be fine in a moment…," Killian insisted, gritting his teeth until the discomfort lessened. "Where is it?"

"Here," Emma replied, offering the ceramic mug. He managed to wrap his fingers around it, but found his hand shaking too much to keep a grip on the handle. "Maybe I should hold it?" his wife offered, to which he nodded in agreement. "Okay… take it slowly, but you'll have to drink it all." She raised the mug to his lips and gradually tipped it. When he nearly gagged on the first mouthful, she instinctively pulled the offending vessel away, fearful that it might be too much right now, but Killian shook his head and reached for her.

"It's fine, Love," Killian assured her despite a crinkled nose and a frown stretching across his lips. "It's a bit much. Rather distasteful, to be honest, but I can do this…" The frown melted into a weak smile as he cupped his hand around hers, still trembling from even such a slight exertion. His fingers stayed with hers as she brought the mug back to his open mouth again. Killian wasn't shy about displaying his displeasure at the foul-tasting liquid but he drank all of it. Emma lowered the mug and passed it to Grandmother as Killian forced himself to swallow the last of the potion.

"Feel any different?" Emma asked, remaining at her husband's side while Grandmother placed the mug on the counter next to the sink to wash later.

"Burns a little," Killian responded, his fingers latching onto Emma's upper arm for support. "Kinda like heartburn after eating that noxious substance Granny calls chili…" That statement had Emma trying to stifle a chuckle even as she felt his grip tighten.

"You sure you're okay?" Emma asked, no longer amused. "You've got a death grip on my arm."

"Sorry… Don't know my own strength…" Killian grinned, but the forced smile was soon betrayed by a powerful spasm that sent his body tumbling into his wife's arms.

"Killian?!" Her arms immediately wrapped around his torso as she caught him crashing into her, nearly knocking her over. His heart was thumping against his chest wall; his breaths coming rapid and shallow and suddenly, the electronic monitor behind him was beeping in time with his racing heart. This was definitely going to draw attention they didn't need.

Sensing what was happening, Grandmother shooed Carlos away from the door as Emma clung to her trembling husband. These spirits weren't going to give him up without a fight, but the old woman recognized that an interruption by medical personnel at this critical moment would disrupt the process so she moved swiftly to intercept the nurse before she entered.

"Is everything alright here?" the nurse asked suspiciously as she saw her patient clenched in his wife's embrace, apparently wrought with tremors. The first thought as the monitors had lit up with alarms was that Killian Jones was suffering another seizure. "This might be another seizure so if you'd please, move out of my way so I can examine my patient."

"Everything is fine," Grandmother insisted, voice calm and steady so that she might sound more convincing. "It's not a seizure. Mr. Jones merely woke from a very visceral nightmare – the poor man forced to relive the horror of being stabbed by an assailant that has yet to be captured. His wife is attempting to comfort him. She gave him a little bit of water and is holding him while the shaking subsides. Please, give her some time before you interrupt them. You might startle him anew." The nurse relented, partially because she noticed that the monitor displaying the patient's heart rate showed his pulse returning to normal and partially because she didn't want to argue with this old woman standing before her.

"I'll be back in two minutes to check his vitals," the nurse insisted. Grandmother responded only with a nod, returning to the room to find that Killian had passed out, his body slack in Emma's arms as she eased him back against the mattress, lowering the bed's angle to a more comfortable sleeping position.

Once Killian was resting seemingly peacefully, Emma drew her arms back from beneath him, but then raised her right hand to sweep away the unruly strands of dark brown hair that had cascaded over his temple when he'd fallen forward. His forehead still felt a bit warm to her touch, but perhaps not as much as earlier? "Please let this work." Her plea came out in a barely audible whisper.

"I don't sense the evil spirits here in this room any longer," Grandmother stated as she extended a hand to help Emma to her feet. Emma's gaze remained fixed on Killian as she stood, allowing him to rest without crowding him.

"I sure hope you're right," Emma responded, her voice quivering as she allowed only a single tear to escape. "I guess only a little time will tell us for sure…"

#cs ff #cs fanfic #cs fan fiction #captain swan ff #only a little superstitious

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